Record heat, more than 100,000 people hospitalized in Japan

More than 100,000 people have been hospitalized due to heat waves in Japan this summer, with temperatures this month in Okinawa setting their highest record since 1946.

An area with a misting system installed to reduce heat in Tokyo in September 2025 - Photo: AFP

Japan, the country with the world's highest proportion of elderly people, faces a serious crisis even though it is already autumn.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said on October 1 that the Okinawa region in southern Japan experienced its hottest September on record, amid a nationwide heat wave.

According to the agency, the temperature in Okinawa in September was the highest "since records began in 1946." Meanwhile, nationwide, the average temperature in the summer was 2.36 degrees Celsius higher than normal and the hottest since 1898. This is also the third consecutive heat record.

According to statistics released by the Japanese government on September 30, for the first time, more than 100,000 people were hospitalized this summer due to heatstroke.

The heat wave is a double crisis for Japan, which is facing a rapidly aging population. Hundreds of elderly people die each year due to heat in the country.

This year's summer was recorded as the hottest in Japan since 1898 - Photo: AFP

The elderly are particularly vulnerable to heat stress. Due to cultural and other factors, older people in Japan often live in isolation, which puts them at greater risk.

This year's heat wave has been prolonged, from June to late September. Late last month, central Tokyo experienced nine consecutive days with temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius, the longest heat wave on record, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

During the harsh summer, Japanese hospitals have been flooded with elderly patients.

"Elderly people often don't feel hot as much, have more difficulty regulating their body temperature, and often don't realize they're thirsty. So there's a high chance they could get heatstroke without even knowing it," said Takashi Shimazaki, a health department manager in Tokyo's Nerima Ward, CNN reported.

Not just Japan, temperatures around the world have been soaring in recent years due to climate change creating increasingly erratic weather conditions.

What experts fear is that as global temperatures continue to rise, these could become the new normal.

TRAN PHUONG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nong-ki-luc-hon-100-000-nguoi-nhap-vien-o-nhat-ban-20251001165705293.htm