3,473 Heatstroke Sufferers Taken to Hospital Last Week

July 4, 2018

Tokyo- The number of people taken to hospital due to heatstroke in Japan in the week to Sunday came to 3,473, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said Tuesday.

Thee of them have died.

The total number of sufferers increased by about fivefold from the preceding week and by about 2.8-fold from a year before.

The surge came as the Kanto-Koshin region of eastern and central Japan saw the earliest end of the rainy season since observation started and hot weather continued in many parts of the country, people familiar with the situation said.

People aged 65 or over accounted for 53.2 pct of all those taken to hospital in the latest reporting week.

By prefecture, Saitama saw the largest figure, at 334, followed by Tokyo, at 278, and Osaka, at 248.

Noting that the scorching heat is expected to continue mainly in the Kanto-Koshin region and that the risk of heatstroke rises even in areas still in the rainy season if humidity is high, the agency is advising people to take preventive measures, such as frequently having breaks. Jiji Press