Saturday, March 13, 2010

Daylight Savings...Not in Japan

It’s so strange to read and hear about America going through the Daylight Savings Time rituals. The worst part of DST is in the Spring when you’re forced out of bed an hour early. Fortunately, we will get up at the same time we always do and don’t have to change our clocks at all.

Japan only used DST for three years between 1948 and 1951, and has never gone back to using it. There have been a few attempts to bring it back but each once has failed like student trying to get up on time. In 1998 and 1999 Hokkaido (Japan’s northern most island) tried to get DST back on the clocks. Because the island is so far North sunrise can be as early as 3:45A.M. in the summer. More recently Shinzo Abe, the former Prime Minister, tried to get DST back. Just like in America, there were claims that it would save more energy and, in turn, reduce green house gas emissions.

After living in a country that does not use it, DST seems a bit strange and annoying. I always enjoyed the Fall part of DST, but “Springing Forward” is just awful.

Here’s a map of the world’s use of Daylight Savings Time:

Blue = Counties using DST, Orange = Countries that once, but no longer use DST, Red = Countries that have never used DST

Do you like Daylight Savings? Or would you rather just get rid of it altogether?

[Via http://tylerandalyssa.wordpress.com]

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