Record-breaking temperatures and scant rainfall have prompted authorities across the nation to cut water intake, with the government warning that water shortages in the Kanto, Chubu and Shikoku areas could match those during Japan's worst recorded drought eight years ago.
In 1994, some 15 million people throughout Japan were hit by tap water suspensions, forcing people to line up with buckets at emergency water supply vehicles.
The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry predicts that water shortages could be extremely severe from late August to early September.