Tag - heatstroke

 
 

HEATSTROKE

A construction worker in Tokyo's Akasaka district on Aug. 21. With 886 cases, 54 of them fatal, during the period from 2019 to 2023, the construction industry leads Japan’s tally for occupational heatstroke.
BUSINESS / Boiling Point
Sep 1, 2024
Clocking off: Japan’s hotter summers put limit on outdoor work
Climate change is forcing businesses to sacrifice productivity in the name of safety in industries ranging from construction to transportation.
A member of the Self-Defense Forces wipes away sweat as he conducts a search and rescue operation at a landslide site caused by heavy rain in Kumano, Hiroshima Prefecture, on July 11, 2018.
ENVIRONMENT / Boiling Point
Aug 29, 2024
Can Japan handle a heat wave and natural disaster at the same time?
Recent typhoons and the Nankai Trough megaquake alert have put the spotlight on how the country would deal with a dual disaster.
Yasuyuki Kurosawa at his paddy fields in Meiwa, Gunma Prefecture. Tending the crops "is something that we cannot avoid, so we must do what we must do even if it's hot," the 77-year-old farmer said.
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2024
Heatstroke risk won't stop Japan's aging farmers as temperatures soar
Agriculture accounts for about 1% of Japan's economy and almost 70% of its 1.4 million farmers are age 65 and above.
Emergency responders assist a man who collapsed during lengthy heat wave in Phoenix in July last year.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Aug 24, 2024
Heat kills thousands in the U.S. every year. Why are the deaths so hard to track?
As heat waves become more frequent and intense, researchers and activists say the lack of effective tracking is leading to needless deaths.
An ambulance is parked at the entrance of the emergency room of Saitama Hospital in Wako, Saitama Prefecture, on July 24.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Boiling Point
Aug 20, 2024
How Japan's health care system is gearing up for more heatstroke cases
Rising heatstroke cases are weighing on the nation’s health care system, which is already wrestling with the growing burden of a rapidly aging population.
Yamazen has released a portable air conditioner with a solar panel.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 16, 2024
Japanese companies aim to help prevent nighttime heatstroke
To combat this summer's heat waves both day and night, companies are encouraging people to utilize products and services aimed at helping them avoid heatstroke while sleeping.
When water temperatures are high, particularly when they rise to 33 degrees Celsius or above, the difference between water and body temperatures is smaller, preventing heat from escaping into the water and increasing the risk of heatstroke.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 13, 2024
Heatstroke a risk even in swimming pools, Japanese experts warn
Experts say the body's ability to regulate temperature is compromised, especially when the water temperature is high.
Children use a mobile shower, provided by the local government, amid extreme heat in metro Manila on May 2.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Aug 6, 2024
From the Philippines to Mali, countries fail to count deaths from extreme heat
A lack of reliable data is undermining efforts to mitigate the risk of extreme heat and provide better protection for the most vulnerable.
An ambulance dispatched in Tokyo on Friday. The Tokyo Fire Department issued an ambulance shortage alert 19 times last month, up from five a year before.
JAPAN
Aug 5, 2024
Heatstroke cases behind record number of ambulance dispatches in Tokyo
The 542,256 instances for the January to July period this year was the highest since the statistics began in 1936.
Takeshita street in Tokyo's Harajuku shopping district on Wednesday, when temperatures reached 35.6 degrees Celsius.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 1, 2024
New 'most severe' category added to Japan’s heatstroke guidelines
The move is meant to stress the need for urgent medical attention in severe cases as the number of heatstroke cases soars amid record-high temperatures.
The students at Mitaka Municipal No. 7 Junior High School have access to various cooling devices for when they play sports.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / Longform
Jul 26, 2024
Japan's extreme heat is causing a rethink of school sports
At risk of sunburns and heatstroke, principals across Japan are trying to protect students' health as well as their athletic opportunities.
Toray Industries introduces its protective clothing that lets air through at a heatstroke goods exhibition in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Jul 25, 2024
Heatstroke prevention goods exhibited in Tokyo
At the 10th annual event of its kind, 84 companies showcased products designed to prevent heatstroke for workers.
Experts are advising students to drink plenty of water, as a survey revealed more than half of them are not sufficiently hydrated during the day.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 24, 2024
Over half of students in Japan are not well hydrated, study finds
Urine osmolality, which goes up as water intake declines, was at levels considered to indicate insufficient hydration.
People hold umbrellas while watching baseball to deal with the heat in the city of Shizuoka on July 7.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 19, 2024
As risk of heatstroke rises in Japan, so does that of COVID-19
Patients examined for suspected heatstroke have been diagnosed with COVID-19 instead, as symptoms can be similar.
A passerby holding a parasol wipes her face as she walks on the street amid a heatstroke alert in Tokyo and other prefectures, in Tokyo on July 9.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Boiling Point
Jul 19, 2024
How to prevent and respond to heatstroke in Japan this summer
Staying hydrated and controlling the rise in one's body temperature are the fundamental ways for preventing and alleviating heat-related illnesses.
The streets of Tokyo's Ginza district on Thursday. The rainy season appears to have ended in the regions of Tokai and Kanto, including Tokyo, on Thursday, according to the Meteorological Agency.
JAPAN
Jul 18, 2024
Rainy season ends in Tokai and Kanto regions
The season looks to have ended a day earlier than average, according to the Meteorological Agency.
A man takes a break under a cooling mist as the government issued a heatstroke alert in Tokyo and other prefectures in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 9, 2024
Number of heatstroke patients in Japan jumps fourfold amid sweltering temperatures
By prefecture, Tokyo had the most heatstroke-related transports at 907. Aichi came in second with 763 cases.
On Monday, a heatstroke alert was issued in 27 of the nation’s 47 prefectures, including seven in the Kanto region.
JAPAN
Jul 8, 2024
Unseasonal heat in Japan raises prospect of top-level heatstroke alert
The alert is issued when the wet-bulb globe temperature is expected to hit at least 35 degrees Celsius at all monitoring points in a prefecture.
Pedestrians shelter themselves from the sun using parasols as they cross a street in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo on Thursday. The temperature in Tokyo hit 35 degrees Celsius just after noon on Thursday, the first time so far this year.
JAPAN
Jul 4, 2024
Mercury hits 39.3 degrees Celsius in Shizuoka
Many cities experienced 35 degree weather, resulting in heatstroke alerts being issued for several regions across Japan.
People offer prayers in September 2022 at a parking lot in Makinohara, Shizuoka Prefecture, where a 3-year-old girl died of heatstroke after being left in a school bus.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 14, 2024
30 months sought for ex-nursery head over girl's heatstroke death
Meanwhile, a prison term of one year was sought for a former teacher at the facility in Shizuoka Prefecture.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past