NHK



 

 
The Japanese government is asking households and businesses to save energy from Thursday to help cope with the tight power-supply situation this winter.

The government is making the request for the winter season for the first time in seven years. It will apply nationwide from December 1 to March 31.

The government is not setting numerical reduction goals and is instead asking people and companies to save electricity within a reasonable range.

The Arakawa Amusement Park in Tokyo will do its part by keeping some lights off at its facilities.

The park's illuminations will mainly be switched on at weekends and on national holidays during the power-saving period, instead of every night.
The park is also planning to start in-house power generation using biofuel.

A visitor in her 40s says she supports the park's efforts and she thinks it's good to turn off unnecessary lights. She says she wants to save power at home by setting the heating at a lower temperature than usual.

A park official says visitors will have fewer chances to see the illuminations but asked for their understanding because it's part of a nationwide power-saving effort.