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Would you be in favor of Japan switching to daylight saving time in summer?

48 Comments
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Just going with the natural rhythm of day and night is something I enjoy about living in Japan. Benefits of DST are marginal and mainly confusing twice a year. So, no, please, to disrupting nature twice a year.

-12 ( +10 / -22 )

I voted no because I can't be bothered changing the time every half year. But do I think it would be in the best interest of nature and more economical, yes. No doubt about it.

-12 ( +4 / -16 )

Daylight saving was introduced to increase leisure time for workers. It gave me time to go for a surf most afternoons in Australia. However, I don't see any point to introducing in Japan. People are still gonna work the same hours and get no advantage from the extra hour of daylight. It will not contribute to decreasing energy use because offices have lights and aircons running all day anyway. There is no point to introducing it in Japan. Therefore, I voted no.

2 ( +10 / -8 )

Japan time is so messed up the clocks should be set back an hour, perhaps two & then they can be left alone or THEN actually consider Daylight Savings time!

Now all Japan has is, It gets Dark Super Early Year Round, so you all can pretty much forget about doing anything that requires light after work hours!!

Hell back home you can play 9 innings, golf, go for walk & WATCH THE DAMNED SUNSET with your fav beverage in hand, in Japan......pretty much forget it for most people!

17 ( +20 / -3 )

I don't think I've ever felt the benefits of daylight saving time.

I lived in a mountainous region almost all my life, and the sun disappeared early anyway. Now I live in the city, and it also disappears early behind buildings.

It also won't make a big difference for people who work late. Lots of shops, like department stores close at 8pm or later, and so employees end their shifts even later, when the sun is already gone or almost. And that's before talking about people like restaurant employees, who may just work at night.

I don't even think I ever heard anyone talking about the benefits of daylight saving. Just how annoying it is.

-2 ( +5 / -7 )

Just start the day earlier!

-3 ( +4 / -7 )

The primary assertion about DST, as it names says, is that it will makes savings.

The problem is, there are scientific literature on the matter, and the higher the latitude the less it works, and in places like Japan, it will actually mean an economic loss, since only subtropical places show any kind of economical benefit from DST, and most of Japan will fall outside of this zone, not to mention that usage of air conditioner rises with DST.

DST has little to no benefits, and has a lot of drawbacks, which is why I cannot support at all DST, simply put, is an unnecessary effort that becomes a nuisance more than anything else.

-9 ( +4 / -13 )

I love DST. I hate it that Japan doesn’t have it. Even if they don’t start using DST, they should shift the full year by an hour from what it currently is.

18 ( +24 / -6 )

Japan time is so messed up the clocks should be set back an hour, perhaps two & then they can be left alone or THEN actually consider Daylight Savings time!

Agree, -2h would get my vote. Think it very much depends on ppl's lifestyle though (work, leisure, family/not etc). Tradies, teachers, farmers, office workers, sports nuttas, couch potatoes, kids, retirees etc all have very different lifestyles. Hard to please everyone.

8am(ish) sunrise & 5pm sunset in winter, 6am (no earlier) & 10pm in summer suit me best. Really not a fan of Japan's 4am/7pm summer days.

13 ( +16 / -3 )

No. It is confusing for everyone, and not good for farmers as it disrupts animals and so on. Having too much sun is also not good as it leads to skin cancers. Japan should not copy Western Nations. Maybe only for 3 weeks in the Olympics, that is enough.

-15 ( +5 / -20 )

"just going with the natural rhythm of day and night is something I enjoy about living in Japan." 

The "natural rhythm" is set by the movements of the sun, not by your watch. DST is a way of maintaining the rhythm by helping us wake up shortly after sunrise and increase our reliance on natural light over artificial light.

"it disrupts animals" 

I didn't realize animals time their activities according to (manmade) clocks.

12 ( +15 / -3 )

Yeah, the clocks in Japan are weird. The part of Russia just above Japan is GMT+11.

No-one has mentioned it, but an often-stated benefit in the UK is kids not going to or coming home from school in the dark, meaning fewer of them get run over by cars. That's in a country with pavements, not a little white stripe along the road thats maybe 30cm wide.

As it happens, it seems like DST causes a slight increase in heart attacks etc. due to the change in rhythm. However, if that saves a child being hit by a car going to school, I would say its a fair swap. If DST leads to reduced energy use for lighting, etc., as you would expect, that is also very important. This summer with its high temperatures is probably only a taster of what is to come. Conservation is something that has to be taken seriously.

10 ( +12 / -2 )

DisillusionedAug. 13  10:19 am JST However, I don't see any point to introducing in Japan. People are still gonna work the same hours and get no advantage from the extra hour of daylight

The other thing is that the population belt of Japan has less to gain being too far south. Northern Tohoku and Hokkaido would get the full benefit of twilight until almost 10PM.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

why would you want the madness when we're trying to get rid of it? Re: Daylight Savings from John Oliver for background on the stupidity of it all: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br0NW9ufUUw

0 ( +4 / -4 )

also CGPGrey's video about Daylight Savings Time here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84aWtseb2-4

Japan doesn't need this madness.

-3 ( +4 / -7 )

GW and Goldorak

To get lighter evenings, I think you mean set the clocks forward not back. That way, for example, the sun could be setting when the clocks say 9pm, instead of the current 7pm.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

I live in France and I miss living with the daylight half of the year. When I live or go outside the country it is actually extremely comfortable to go back to living with the sun.

°

NCM

4 ( +5 / -1 )

'Daylight Savings Time' or 'Summertime' is just mental masturbation. Set schedules one (or two) hours earlier. People are smart enough to follow the sunrise. Farmers have done it for centuries.

-3 ( +4 / -7 )

'Daylight Savings Time' or 'Summertime' is just mental masturbation. Set schedules one (or two) hours earlier.

Um, setting schedules one hour earlier is exactly what DST does.

9 ( +11 / -2 )

I can't understand why people are so against this idea. I lived with DST for the better part of half my life with no major events or accidents, other than sleeping in on the first Sunday after the change having forgotten to change the clocks. There is no reason in this world for the sun to come up at 3:50 in the better part of June and July. Think of how much more productive Japanese could be, house builders, road construction could be done much longer. Also for all of you so against the change, when you travel do you object to changing your watches when you go to another time zone because it is an inconvenience? Of course not.

But if you don't like the idea of changing your clocks twice a year, then Japan should just change the time by two hours and just leave it there.

11 ( +14 / -3 )

I can't understand why people are so against this idea. I lived with DST for the better part of half my life

I'm about 50% of my life myself, and I prefer DST.

6 ( +9 / -3 )

Japan stretches wide across its time zone. Daylight savings makes sense in Kanto with sunrises at just after 4 but sunset is at about 8:15 pm in Nagasaki.

Quite different from narrower South Korea.

Probably not going to happen anyway.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Living mostly in USA lately, I loathe the time changing. I wish it'd just stay one way all year. Move clock up/back, whichever, but all this dagnabbed changing messed up my body and brain (not hard to do).

-1 ( +4 / -5 )

Apparently, one of the biggest hurdles to implementing DST in Japan is IT and software. Every critical system from transport to banking will need to be reworked and tested to make an allowance for that extra hour. It would be like a self inflicted Y2K.

0 ( +5 / -5 )

If it saves energy, may be a good idea.

-1 ( +4 / -5 )

Apparently, one of the biggest hurdles to implementing DST in Japan is IT and software. Every critical system from transport to banking will need to be reworked and tested to make an allowance for that extra hour. It would be like a self inflicted Y2K.

These days that’s an issue that isn’t too hard to fix. Libraries exist for any programming language that handle time calculations incorporating DST.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

Strangerland

I admire your optimism!

0 ( +2 / -2 )

GanbareJapanCow,

Oddly enough, barnyard animals are probably confused (if animals can be confused) now. Very few animals have alarm clocks. They get up with the sun and then sit around for four hours waiting for Mr Farmer to get up to feed and/or milk them. Then they go to sleep when the sun sets and wonder why Mr Farmer is milking/ and/or feeding them again.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

its a ridiculous idea that does not solve anything. If its for the Olympics then start the events early do not bother the entire country for a two week event

-2 ( +5 / -7 )

This is a big change and Japan does not react well to change. It frightens many Japanese people

5 ( +7 / -2 )

No thanks. I hate the twice annual pain the the neck that goes with it. If you want more light in your day try getting up earlier.

-1 ( +4 / -5 )

Yes. I still can't get used to it getting dark i summer at 6 or 7pm. What a waste of good weather. Also, it's cooler in the mornings, at the moment it's already 30C plus at 9am when businesses open

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Since the Japanese gov’t wants SummerTime for the Olympics which, I believe, are the Tokyo Olympics, maybe SummerTime can be set just for Tokyo and the rest of the country can continue as is without the onerous task of re-setting a clock twice or confused barnyard animals.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Yes yes yes please...

Here in Tokyo even in mid summer the sun has gone by half eight at night and its up again about 4 am,

In Summer they should add 3 hours to the time. Then the sun would be up at 7 am and go down at eleven. That would allow people to enjoy the evening.

3 ( +7 / -4 )

Yes. I absolutely hate the fact that even in June it gets dark by about 730, while several hours of perfectly good daylight are wasted from 430AM onward in the morning.

When I come home from work I want to be able to play with my son in the yard, but we only get a few minutes in before it gets dark. It’s such an infuriating waste.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

The farmers I know make good use of those hours.

Did I say they didn’t?

For the 99% of the population that are not farmers, they are wasted.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

No. It is confusing for everyone, and not good for farmers as it disrupts animals and so on. Having too much sun is also not good as it leads to skin cancers. Japan should not copy Western Nations. Maybe only for 3 weeks in the Olympics, that is enough.

I will never understand the passion on the Japanese right wing for sticking religiously to the Western clock rather than than trying to get with nature and rise close to dawn as the ancestors used to do. Since the introduction of the clock, it now dictates when the day should start and end. Usually resistant to western imports but in love with this one that pushes the Japanese away from nature.

If you are really so concerned about skim cancer, perhaps you should put the clocks back a few hours and live a majority of the day in the dark - that would sort it out. When it gets dark at 3pm you can be thankful for all the cancers you are not getting.

I does not disrupt farmers or animals at all. They tend to live their day according to the sun not the clock. Farmers never complain about it in countries with daylight saving which includes the world's two largest economies - the EU and USA.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

No DST. Great to get up and out early before the heat of the day begins.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

A better idea would be to move the clocks forward by eight hours on Friday mornings and put them back again on Sunday evenings.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Ike-in-Tokyo-from-89

No DST. Great to get up and out early before the heat of the day begins.

You should be advocating DST, with such an argument. Getting up and out before the heat of the day begins is easier with DST. The heat of the day is later with DST, so it's more achievable to get out before it's hot.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

With sunrise close to 4 AM in eastern Japan, office buildings are being overheated for four hours before the workers even arrive, making air conditioners have to do that much more work and consume energy.

You would think this would make the bean-counters either press for a 06:00 to 14:00 business day, or for DST, but instead the consensus is that we just have to endure hotter indoor temperatures.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Would be nice to have a lot of sunlight left when I go home from work.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Daylight savings time is pretty lame, but I do think that Japan is in the wrong time zone. It ought to be permanently pushed one hour later. I can remember when I lived there that in near the summer solstice the sun still set pretty early, like not long after 7:00PM. Too early for really getting outside and doing something substantial after work. And the same time of year I remember that heading home after late nights out on the town seeing the eastern sky brighten at 3:30AM. Full-on daylight not long after 4:00AM.

Come on...

3 ( +3 / -0 )

As someone from a DST country I can confirm that changing the clocks twice a year is mildly inconvenient although most of mine change automatically - just a couple of analogue clocks to change.

The benefits from having it massively outweigh the tiny inconvenience of changing the clock. You get an hour longer in bed one Saturday night and an hour less on one other, but that is pretty small.

The benefit of doing so us an extra hour of natural evening sunlight for over half the year. You also do not waste an hour of sunlight when you are still in bed in the morning

0 ( +0 / -0 )

No DST. Great to get up and out early before the heat of the day begins.

You should be advocating DST, with such an argument. Getting up and out before the heat of the day begins is easier with DST. The heat of the day is later with DST, so it's more achievable to get out before it's hot.

This is fun. Check my logic if you would. It’s critical to keep in mind that I don’t have to report for work.

Without DST the sun rises at 04:00; the temperature 1 hour later is 26° and rising rapidly.

With DST the sun rises at 05:00 (assuming the clock is pushed just 1 hour ahead) the temperature 1 hour later is 26° and rising rapidly. Same situation. Man proposes, Sol disposes.

However, the big difference is this and of course it’s personal as mentioned above (this is an opinion article): without DST hardly anyone is enjoying the mild temperature and pleasant early morning light at 04:00 - it’s peacefully quiet.

If I start walking at sun up, 05:00 with DST, more people are already out and on their way to work. Same temperature and light conditions to be sure, but not so peacefully quiet.

So, I’d rather do without DST.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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