Speedier family baths could help Japanese cut their burgeoning energy consumption and reduce greenhouse gas emissions tied to global warming, the government said Tuesday.

Japanese households consume less energy than their U.S. and European counterparts, but consumption has been sharply increasing — jumping 44 percent between 1990 and 2005.

That pace easily outstripped increases in other top emitters, the paper said. Such energy usage increased 28 percent in the United States, 16 percent in Britain and 0.7 percent Germany over the same period, the Environment Ministry said in a report.

Families should not only shorten their daily showers by a minute — a common recommendation in the West — but should try to take baths in quick succession, the government said.

Japanese usually wash outside the tub and then soak in hot water, which is then reused by the next family member. That means the water must be reheated each time if the next person in line dawdles.

Hot water use in bathrooms and kitchens accounted for 39 percent of energy consumed in Japanese homes, a stark contrast to European households, where energy is mainly used for air-conditioning and heating, the report said.

Japan is one of the world’s most energy-efficient countries, but greenhouse gas emissions from companies and households have been on the rise in recent years, prompting the government to raise public awareness for global warming.

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