Tokyo logs record 453 heat-related hospitalizations in a day

Tokyo recorded its highest single-day total of heat-related hospitalizations since records began in 2010, with 453 people transported for treatment on Wednesday, July 22, as a severe heatwave continues to grip Japan. Emergency services in the capital reported one death, four people in critical condition, and 18 others in serious condition. The Tokyo Fire Department also responded to 3,612 emergency calls on Wednesday, the highest daily total since comparable records started in 1963.

Nationwide, the toll from the heatwave is severe. The Fire and Disaster Management Agency reported on Wednesday that at least 14 people died from heat-related causes across Japan in the past week, with nearly 11,000 people requiring emergency medical care. A separate national report covering the week of July 13 to 19 showed 10,857 people were transported by ambulance for heatstroke, more than double the figure from the same period last year. People aged 65 or older accounted for 62 percent of those cases.

Temperatures have soared across the country, with several cities in central Japan recording temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius this week. By early afternoon on Thursday, July 23, at least six...