Japanese officials are reportedly seeking the power to remotely control air conditioning units in people’s homes to combat climate change.

Local media have reported that the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s Energy Conservation Subcommittee made the chilling proposal in a meeting on 2nd November.

The subcommittee allegedly hopes that officials will be able to turn down the air conditioning or heating in people’s homes remotely in order to reduce energy usage during power shortages.

Power shortages are expected as Japan tries to transition to green – and often unreliable – energy sources like solar power to combat global warming.

According to the ministry, 30 per cent of Japan’s household electricity consumption comes from air conditioning units because of the country’s hot and humid summers.

Local media reported that if approved, the proposal should not be tricky to implement, as most air conditioning units in the country are equipped with remote controls.

For the proposal to be carried out, manufacturers would have to hand over online access to the air-con or heating units to government regulatory organisations.

Many netizens reacted incredulously to the proposal, which many considered a dystopian example of government overreach.

One commented: “Hey, government, isn’t it your job to make sure the power grid can support us?”

And another – alluding to deaths from heatstroke, which can be common during Japanese summers – asked: “So they’ll stop doing this when people start dying, right?”

However, local media reported that the subcommittee is considering only implementing the proposal for households that agree to it beforehand.