Japan is unusually hot this summer. But Tokyo is hotter.
The capital's high temperatures have been blamed on the "heat island" effect -- the high concentration of concrete and asphalt and few areas of vegetation and open water. Experts are now also pointing to another culprit: the expanding wall of skyscrapers that line Tokyo Bay.
On July 20, temperatures in parts of the Kanto region hit record highs. The highest for the day, 40.2, was recorded in Ichihara, Chiba Prefecture, while in central Tokyo the mercury hit 39.5.