Land of the (red hot) rising sun: can Japan beat its killer heat?

With temperatures soaring into the record books, Japan’s heatwave has taken a deadly turn, prompting authorities to declare a natural disaster and turn to city planners for ideas on how to keep cool

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Temperatures enter the forties in Kumagaya city, north of Tokyo. Photo: AP

Published: 10:03am, 11 Aug 2018Updated: 10:02am, 11 Aug 2018

At the ripe old age of 94, Kinzo Hosomura is still fiercely independent and his family admits he often stubbornly resists their advice. This summer, however, he has done as they have suggested and checked himself into a residential care facility close to his home in Honjo City, north of Tokyo, just to get out of the heat.

Even the most obstinate of Japanese understand that the scorching temperatures could be the death of them.

Temperatures across Japan have soared this summer, with a record high of 41.1 degrees Celsius (106 degrees Fahrenheit) recorded in late July in Kumagaya – less than 25km from Hosomura’s home.

Breaking a record set in 2007, when thermometers reached 40.9 degrees, prompted the Japan Meteorological Agency to declare the high temperatures, combined with elevated humidity, a natural disaster.

A volunteer recovery worker uses a pack of refrigerant to cool down at a flood affected area in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, Japan. Photo: Reuters

Between the end of April and the end of the first week in August, at least 138 people have died from heat-related complaints, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. And 71,266 people have been admitted to hospitals for heatstroke or heat exhaustion, surpassing the 58,729 people admitted in the summer of 2013.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, more than 48 per cent of the people treated in hospitals were elderly.