Japan broils under record ‘cruelly hot’ days
Japanese cities are experiencing “cruelly hot days,” a new meteorological term devised this year to warn people of intense heat above 40 degrees Celsius, with emergency officials describing the soaring temperatures on Wednesday as “a disaster.”
Heatstroke alerts were issued across almost the whole country and emergency officials said at least 14 people had died from heat-related causes in the past week.
Three central cities logged scorching temperatures on Tuesday above the new threshold, called “kokushobi” and which translates to “cruelly hot day,” according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).
Large areas, including the central hub of Nagoya and communities near Tokyo in the east, were enduring temperatures approaching or above 40 C on Wednesday.
The new term was designed to draw greater public attention to heat-related warnings, although it does not trigger any official measures nationwide.
The JMA has issued heatstroke alerts in 41 out of Japan’s 47 prefectures, urging the public—especially the country’s many elderly—to take steps to stay cool.
Highest daily count
Almost 11,000 people sought emergency medical care in Japan in the past week, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
Fourteen of those were pronounced dead upon arrival, the agency said, adding that the public must regard the extreme heat as a “disaster.”
Tokyo recorded on Wednesday the most daily heat-related hospitalizations since 2010, emergency services said, with one person dead, four in critical condition, and 18 in a serious state. The Tokyo prefecture is home to around 14 million people.
The Tokyo Fire Department said 453 people were taken to hospital on Wednesday, the highest daily count since records began in 2010.
The number of times emergency services were deployed that day also hit a 63-year high.
“We are urging people to stay hydrated and use air conditioners,” a fire brigade spokesperson told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Thursday.
In the entire central region of Aichi, which includes Nagoya, 116 people were taken to hospital on Wednesday for heat-related conditions, officials said.
The same day four locations—one in the Mie region, two in Gifu and one in Shizuoka—saw temperatures above 40 C, according to the JMA.
Easing the impact
Minoru Kihara, the government’s top spokesperson, said Tokyo was attempting to ease the impact of the extreme heat with measures that include installing air conditioners in school gyms and pressing businesses to adhere to sound workplace practices.
Japan experiences about 1,300 heat-related deaths annually and is aiming to halve that number by 2030, he said.
Scientists say human-induced climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme heat events in Japan and elsewhere.
Japan sweltered through its hottest summer on record last year.
Its highest recorded temperature was registered on Aug. 5, 2025, at 41.8 C in Isesaki, north of Tokyo.
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