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In terms of pure temperature, Japan’s summers aren’t all that bad. Daytime temperatures are often in the 32-34 degrees Celsius range, which is cooler than what you’ll find in many parts of the American southwest (this week’s highs in Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Dallas, for example, are 42, 40, and 39 degrees Celsius, respectively).
But while the sun itself may not shine as powerfully here as it does in some other parts of the world, midsummer weather-based health risks are no joke in Japan. On Tuesday, a woman living in the city of Yatomi, Aichi Prefecture, went out for a few hours in the afternoon. At some point after she left, her 28-year-old son set up a folding chair in their garden to catch some rays and work on his tan, something he’d done numerous times before.
However, when the woman returned home at around 3:20 in the afternoon, she found her son lying comatose on the chair. She immediately called the paramedics, who realized that the son had gone into cardiac arrest and rushed him to the hospital. Sadly, though, their efforts came too late, and the son passed away some 40 minutes after his mother had found him, with doctors attributing his death to the effects of heatstroke.
The woman isn’t sure how long her son was in the garden, but weather records from the neighboring town of Aisai show temperatures of 34.2 degrees C and 32.7 at 3 p.m. on the day of the incident. Again, by themselves those numbers might not seem so intimidating, but it’s important to also account for Japan’s high humidity. The combined effects of the two dehydrating weather factors can dry out the body with deceptively dangerous speed, even for someone who’s ordinarily comfortable, or at least happy, spending time in the sun, such as the sunbather in Yatomi.
After an unusually mild July, Japan has swung fully into its harsh summer weather in a hurry. On the day of the man’s death, 68 people in Aichi Prefecture were hospitalized for heatstroke, and the national Fire and Disaster Management Agency says that in the single week from July 29 to August 4, nationwide 18,000 people required emergency medical attention for the condition, with 57 cases being fatal.
So if you’re planning to soak up some summer fun in Japan, remember to stay hydrated. Luckily, the country has no shortage of vending machines and convenience stores stocked with bottles of water and sports drinks like local favorites Pocari Sweat and Aquarius. If you’re going out in mid-day, seriously consider covering up with a hat and maybe some light, breathable long sleeves, or maybe even going totally native and carrying a sun umbrella as many Japanese do. And if you’re absolutely committed to working on your tan, let a friend or family member know when you’re starting your sun session so they can come check on you, because once you realize you’re in danger, it may be too late for you to save yourself.
Sources: NHK News Web via Jin, Nitele News 24, CBC News, Nihon Keizai Shimbun
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- External Link
- https://soranews24.com/2019/08/08/young-japanese-man-dies-while-sunbathing-in-his-home-garden/
45 Comments
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Do the hustle
Don’t drink Aquarius or Pokari Sweat. They will make you sick. Despite what they say, they are both full of processed sugar. Drink 100% orange juice and water. The glucose in orange juice will stop your brain cooking. I usually drink orange juice and soda water (no vodka) for a refreshing summer drink.. Unfortunately, many Japanese drink green tea, which is a diuretic and makes you even more dehydrated. Perhaps this is why such an astonishing amount of people end up ill or dead when temps are only in the low 30’s.
Kaerimashita
Should have worn SPF 70.
papigiulio
@Do the hustle: Good advice. Water is the best and take some salt tablets.
What about mugicha?
Sariri
Mugicha is good. Buckwheat tea doesn't have as much caffein as green tea so less diuretic. Adding salt makes even more effective to prevent heatstroke.
Kag
Not sure if there's any difference but Japan tend to have very little clouds during this period thus the rays are more direct and feels a lot harsher.
Vince Black
Seriously?
commanteer
Sorry, but this is not good advice. Unless you are drinking freshly squeezed orange juice, you are most likely drinking even more processed sugar than is found in Aquarius or Pocari Sweat. Store-bought juice is heavily processed.
And green tea will not dehydrate you, though I often read this. Yes, it is diuretic, as is coffee. But the water in the tea greatly outweighs the diuretic effects. While tea is not as good as water, it is a whole lot better than drinking nothing.
Raw Beer
I always drink plain water with a pinch of Himalayan salt; cheap and effective.
Jessie Lee
Am guessing there are some underlying health issues, and more to this story.
In terms of rehydration, there are many effective Oral Rehydration Powders available at pharmacies. Drinking water alone will not replenish sodium and other nutrients lost through sweating and dehydration and can lead to hyponatremia
Luddite
Don't sunbathe, especially when the sun is highest.
sourpuss
@Raw Beer
Any salt is fine. Soda water is fine. Pretty much anything other than alcohol or caffeinated drinks should be fine.
commanteer
This is just bad news. Be careful out there. People have died in the desert while they still had plenty of drinking water on them. It can happen quickly. Once you pass out from the heat, there's generally no waking up unless someone is there to help.
DaDude
Man, Yatomi has my favorite shop in Japan and I am planning to go next week. I will remember not to sunbathe on the shop's roof.
juminRhee
Hope he wasn't all-out sunbathing. That'd be awkward to find...a nude tanner.
englisc aspyrgend
Best to avoid the sun during the hottest part of the day, not just heat stroke but skin cancer (nasty). As Commanteer said tea and coffee are not a problem though water is the best solution. Sports drinks do not hydrate you any better than water, and all fruit juice is full of sugar.
thepersoniamnow
These peeps who claim teas and coffee are diuretics...lol
smithinjapan
thepersoniamnow: "These peeps who claim teas and coffee are diuretics...lol"
Guess we'll be seeing you in the headlines, bud. They are diuretics if drunk in excess, as caffeine over a certain limit does indeed have diuretic effects. So, one bottle of tea, nope. Several, yes. More than a few coffees, definitely, as with brewed tea that is caffeinated. Learn your facts, bud.
In any case, saw an elderly woman gripping a railing at the train station near my apartment on my way home from work for lunch, and a couple of people rushed to help her before I could. When I got there, though, I saw the people loosening the dry towel around her neck, and the SEVERAL layers of clothes she was wearing. If you need to, wear stuff to cover up, but not like it's mid-winter! And stay hydrated.
And agree with above: drinks like Poccari Sweat and Aquarius, and their cheaper versions, have FAR too much sugar in them to be any benefit.
Raw Beer
I think coffee and tea do have a diuretic effect, meaning that they will hydrate you less than an equal volume of water, but I very much doubt that they will actually dehydrate you.
Nippori Nick
You can't make the supposed conclusion you are trying to make here in that someohw green tea drinking offers good health and longevity.
They don't make me sick. Perhaps you have some other medical issue.
nothisrealname
I get really bad muscle twitching all over my body in summer in Japan. My doctor said that I lose too much potassium and calcium in my sweat, which are used in sending signals for your muscles to expand and contract. He told me to drink Pocari Sweat. He sounded like a Pocari Sweat commercial. I was already drinking tons of water per day. He told me that just the water was not giving me back these important minerals. Honestly, I didn't think it was going to work, but on the way home, I bought some and gave it a try. By golly, it only took a couple of days and now it has now completely stopped. Yeah, there's a bunch of sugar in there, too, but there is also a lot of hydration. I drink my water, too.
William77
The humidity is a key factor,even more than the heat itself.
People should stay indoor if possible during the hottest hours,or at least drink as much fresh water as possible.
Flute
What about Aquarius 0 ? And other 0 stuff if there was ?
I think a bit of sparkling water in addition of normal water could be good as there is a lot more of mineral usually.
Bugle Boy of Company B
If you look at the photo, you will see the man in the clouds. Top center.
garypen
Why would mugicha have any caffeine at all?
garypen
I prefer Green Dakara as a hydration drink, both the original and lychee/yogurt flavors.
Aquarius and Pocari Sweat are a far second and third. Plus, I dilute them with water, if I can.
kohakuebisu
Poor guy, I wonder what happened.
The UK recommends only 150ml of fruit juice a day. Carton juice has no fiber and many empty calories in the form of fructose, increasingly the sugar of concern. Chemically its the same as the sugar they make industrially from maize. It's not a problem for actual fruit because that is full of fiber and noone eats five oranges in a row. It is very easy to drink five oranges' worth of juice.
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/should-i-still-drink-fruit-juice
Pocari's main ingredient is "sugar" which is half glucose, the body's preferred sugar. Pocari has around 20 calories per 100ml, while orange juice will be close to 250 calories, again in the form of fructose.
WilliB
Mugicha for me. I stopped the sports drinks after I found out how much sugar they contain. Ditto for orange juice.
Luddite
LB315
Sunbathing in the middle of summer in Japan. Why?? Don't you get enough sun as it is???
LB315
Let me rephrase.
Sunbathing in the middle of summer in Japan. Why?? Aren't you burning up already??
kurisupisu
Even now, I regularly see people out jogging in in the hottest part of the day!
There isn’t enough prevention here so it will be the same again next year-thousands getting heatstroke yet again...
Jonathan Prin
I ran quickly a few kilometers last month in Japan when it was 32°C. I was doing it regularly.
No issue when you drink and normally healthy.
That poor dude must have had serious health issue. Conclude his death was because of heat stroke without autopsy is all but serious.
Any diuretic drinks would be bad only and only if you p.iss as much as you drink, but surely you know how to assess that if you are not senile ( I urgently ask readers here to check definition of diuretic please).
As for sports drink like pokari or aquarius, they bring you indeed minerals lost when sweating (sodium and potassium) needed to avoid muscle pain.
Sunn is good for your vitam D boost !
Strangerland
Caffeine is a diuretic, but the amount of water you take in along with coffee and/or green tea well exceeds, by far, the amount of water lost from the caffeine.
Black Sabbath
There's only one way to beat the heat in Japan in the summer:
Nagashima Spaland, Mie.
Yomiuri Land Water Amusement Island, Tokyo. ...
Toshimaen Hydropolis, Tokyo.
Tobu Zoo Super Pool, Saitama. ...
Rusutsu Resort Super Jumbo Pool, Hokkaido.
Spa Resort Hawaiians, Fukushima.
Uminonakamichi Seaside Park, Fukuoka.
Hakone Kowakien Yunessun, Kanagawa.
Magnus Roe
No, orange juice does not have over five times as many calories as Coke. :p
onsenandbeer2013
Aquarius, Pocari Sweat or that OS-1 dehydration drink work just fine.
Dirk T
After almost 20 years in Japan I am back in Atlanta and find the humidity far, far worse in Japan which, of course, makes the heat that much worse.
thepersoniamnow
Disillusioned
Actually I am very fit and have great coaches and we aren’t freaking out about the green and brown teas as they are 99% water.
I’m actually not very hot at all in the summers here, probably due to conditioning myself through exercize, going to the sauna all year long, and not confusing myself with fiction (saying tea dehydrates me and I will doe for example).