Earlier quoted context omitted.
Actually my experience is the opposite. In colder climates such as Russia, Finland I have seen room temperatures to be quite mild, above 20C for sure. However, in Italy in winter it is quite cold inside. Needless to say that thermal insulation is awful in IT.
Could it be that the outdoors being so cold increases radiation losses so you need a higher air temperature to compensate? Personally I find if it's especially cold outside, I need to put the thermostat up to compensate.
When it’s -25C out, not so much.
Japan can actually be a case study of that: detached homes on Honshu (the main island) generally have poor insulation, in winter they tend to be quite cold and spot-heated (using kotatsu and kerosene space heaters, with heavy clothing).
On Hokkaido meanwhile, good insulation (including double or triple pane windows) and central heating are common (the island has insulation regs and there are loans dedicated to properly protecting against the cold), and inside temperatures tend to be cosy. It’s a regular occurrence that Hokkaido residents catch colds when visiting tokyo in winter, because they don’t have the habit of bundling up inside.
Though when it comes to Honshu, one of the justifications for the lack of insulation is the difficulty of keeping indoors drafty and dry during the extremely wet summer, to avoid the walls outright rotting on you.