Regarding Takamitsu Sawa's April 10 article, "Energy conservation is key": I agree that more conservation is of utmost importance, but I don't see Japanese companies, the Japanese government and the Japanese people doing much.
For a while, after the terrible earthquake and tsunami, grocery stores in my neighborhood were half-illuminated, and escalators were turned off at the local train station. Shoppers could still easily shop and commuters benefited from a little extra exercise.
However, the Japanese government stopped promoting conservation. Now the grocery stores are excessively illuminated, few people use staircases, and conservation efforts in most homes and businesses have been discontinued. There were no good reasons to stop energy conservation.
Energy usage in this country can easily and quickly be significantly reduced. If Japanese politicians strongly promoted and enforced energy conservation, and if many people willingly conserved energy, Japan would become a model for the world.
The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.