[1][2] In March 2006, the then-Minister of the Environment Yuriko Koike, created a furoshiki cloth to promote its use in the modern world.

[3] In August 2011, the Cabinet of Japan approved a plan to establish a new energy watchdog under the Environment Ministry,[4] and the Nuclear Regulation Authority was founded on September 19, 2012.

[5] The Ministry of the Environment began advocating the Cool Biz campaign in summer 2005 as a means to help reduce electric consumption by limiting use of air conditioning and allowing the wearing of less formal officewear.

Following the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, the shut down of many nuclear power plants for safety reasons lead to energy shortages.

To conserve energy, the government recommended setting air conditioners at 28 degrees Celsius, switching off computers not in use, and called for shifting work hours to the morning and taking more summer vacation than usual.