Teachers and education officials are calling for students to pay special heed to the risk of heat exhaustion this summer as schools across Japan shorten their summer holidays and hold more classes than usual to make up for closures caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
"Wearing masks is effective in curbing the spread, but I would like (schools) to prioritize their responses to heat exhaustion," education minister Koichi Hagiuda told a news conference on Friday.
Temperatures have risen rapidly in recent days, prompting the government on Thursday to issue an alert for heat exhaustion covering Tokyo and two surrounding prefectures — the first since the launch of a new system in July.