Record 65 People Die from Heatstroke in Japan Last Week

July 24, 2018

Tokyo- The number of people who died after being taken to hospital by ambulance due to heatstroke in Japan came to a record high of 65 in the week that ended Sunday, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said Tuesday.

Aichi and Mie prefectures both had the largest number of deaths, at seven, followed by Saitama Prefecture, at six and Osaka and Hiroshima prefectures, at five.

The number of heatstroke sufferers transported to the hospital last week grew 2.3 times from the preceding week to 22,647, marking a record high for a week since the agency started such survey in 2008, due to the intense heat.

People aged 65 or over accounted for 46.5 pct of those taken to hospital.

By prefecture, Tokyo saw the largest number of people taken to hospital, at 1,979, followed by Aichi, at 1,954 and Osaka, at 1,779.

Of the prefectures that were heavily affected by landslides and floods caused by the recent torrential rain that mainly hit western Japan, Okayama had 573 people transported to hospital, Hiroshima had 576 and Ehime had 247.

The heat wave is continuing to sweep through Japan, with temperatures in Kumagaya, a city in Saitama Prefecture, hitting a record high for the country with 41.1 degrees Celsius on Monday.

The agency has called on people to drink plenty of liquids and take breaks regularly. Jiji Press