From ‘HTT’ and ‘SusHi Tech’ to ‘NHK,’ Koike’s way with words falters

If you attend a news conference of Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike these days, you may be startled by the various acronyms used by the capital’s leader, which often resemble secret codes: HTT, SusHi Tech, NHK and more.

They’re actually wordplay, and the hope seems to be that they will make Tokyo’s key policies more eye-catching and easier to understand. HTT, for example, stands for “herasu” (reduce), “tsukuru” (produce) and “tameru” (store), and relates to the capital’s campaign to tackle energy shortages amid rising electricity prices.

“Dec. 1 to March 31 will be the period of promoting the HTT campaign for winter,” Koike said at a news conference on Nov. 18. “We will ask Tokyo residents and business operators to save energy during this period.”