When asked to imagine a typical image of white-collar workers in Japan, salarymen in suits may come to mind.
On the flip side, people in work wear tend to be associated with less flattering stereotypes of blue-collar jobs, dubbed the "3K" — which stands for kitsui (demanding), kitanai (dirty) and kiken (dangerous) in Japanese.
Work wear that looks exactly like a business suit, developed by a Tokyo-based plumbing firm, might be helping to improve the image of blue-collar workers. It has been proving popular recently among people in various industries, ranging from waste collection and building maintenance to agriculture.
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