As Japan’s deadly summer heat claims 252 lives in Tokyo, experts warn of long-term threat

The high number of deaths comes despite the government introducing a new heatstroke alert system in April that issued warnings in 58 areas across the country and a summer-long campaign to encourage people to take precautions, including drinking lots of fluids, staying out of direct sunlight whenever possible and using air conditioning at home.

A breakdown of the death toll provided by the Tokyo Medical Examiner’s Office indicates that the elderly were most at risk, with people in their 80s accounting for 98 of the 252 deaths in Tokyo. Of the other fatalities, 82 were in their 70s, 32 were aged 90 or older and 27 were in their 60s, the Mainichi newspaper reported.

Most of those whose died – 241 – were indoors and 215 either lacking air conditioning or choosing not to use it, indicating that many older adults on fixed incomes are hesitant to incur higher electricity bills.