The Suit Jacket Swap

In the early 1990s, when I worked in Tokyo, it was still required for men to wear suit jackets to the office, even in summertime. However, as I soon learned, "to the office" literally meant "to the office." Unless one's office was close enough to the subway to avoid becoming drenched in sweat on the walk from one to the other, suit jackets were carried on the train, put on shortly before arriving at the office, and taken off immediately upon arriving at work. They were not worn during the day unless there was a very important meeting. Jackets were then put on before leaving the office at night, and taken off as soon as one achieved a safe distance from the company.