In Japan, clothes with A/C save energy in wake of failing nuclear plants
What's cooler than being naked?
Wearing this Japanese inventor's air-conditioned clothing. He says so himself.
Both Agence France Presse and ABC News have profiled Hiroshi Ichigaya, a Japanese entrepreneur who sells jackets, shirts and pants outfitted with battery-powered "personal cooling systems." Small fans circulate so much air over the wearer's body that an 88 degree Fahrenheit room feels comfortable, according to the ABC piece.
This would be just another quirky news-of-the-weird type profile were it not for the demand caused by post-tsunami power shortages.
Japanese are asked to cut energy use by 15 percent. They're resorting to this clothing brand — called Kuchofuku — to save money. And according to ABC News, Ichigaya is selling to 1,000 companies and getting requests from the prime minister's office for half a million jackets.
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