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No. of heatstroke victims in July so far five times more than last year

14 Comments

The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said Wednesday that the number of people who were hospitalized due to heatstroke in July so far is five times more than last year. It said that 13,681 people had been hospitalized nationwide for heatstroke in the two weeks from July 1 to 14, Fuji TV reported.

The agency also said that 85 deaths since mid-May had been attributed to heatstroke. Of those, 73 were aged 65 or older.

For June, the total number of people taken to hospital for heatstroke was 4,265 which was 2.3 times higher than in 2012, Fuji reported. Of those, 49.4% were over 65 years old and 14.5% were aged 7 to 18, the agency said.

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14 Comments
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Sad, but almost all were preventable.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

This is also a direct result of the government campaign for people to reduce energy use. The elderly and sick in society suffer the most. Many of those elderly are on fixed incomes and can not afford the increased electrical costs associated with running their a/c's.

This is a SERIOUS black eye on the government. Nearly all these cases were probably preventable and yet no one is talking about doing anything to correct the issue, other than stupid-arsed public service commercials continually telling folks to use less energy, and drink more liquids.

They need to get off their fat asses in the local city offices and get on a daily door to door campaign and check up on those that are most prone to heat related issues.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Welcome to the new abnormal of man-made climate change.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Many public health centers in Tokyo are door-to-door "canvassing" to advise the elderly of heatstroke. Their target is to visit all households (especially the ones without air conditioners) by the end of July.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

I tell my elderly neighbors to hang out at the nearby ward office or post office where you near to wear a sweater.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Many public health centers in Tokyo are door-to-door "canvassing" to advise the elderly of heatstroke. Their target is to visit all households (especially the ones without air conditioners) by the end of July.

Yes. I saw this on NHK news last night where 40 elderly died of heatstroke this month with 35 not using A/C.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Electric bill too expensive without nuclear energy?

0 ( +1 / -1 )

It's called, "People never learn". Using A/C is kind of a touchy thing. I haven't used mine yet once, and I'm okay (granted, one of the offices I work at uses it), and I am also aware that using A/C gives off a lot of heat into the atmosphere outside. A lot of elderly people I see and know where far too much clothing, even indoors and not just to protect from the sun, and my guess is this is one reason why they overheat on top of not using A/C.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

They should buy all that "stay cool" stuff in every kusuriya and conbini.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Despite central government of prefectural campaigns to reduce electricity use, Kumagaya City has daily city-wide PA announcements, from the municipal disaster prevention office, repeated several times during the course of the day, exhorting people to use their air conditioners and to get enough liquid, as well as to stay out of the sun as much as possible especially during the hotter hours of the day.

Whether the citizens follow the advice, of course, is a different story. I have heard from several pensioners that they can't afford to run their A/C as much as they would like to. Unfortunately, not every senior citizen on a fixed income is fortunate enough to have the savings that the LDP seems to believe they do.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

In New Jersey, USA, I just got a notice from the electric co. that they will turn off electricity for 15 minutes at a time to reduce strain on the system, whenever needed. This of course is cheaper than upgrading the grid, and maximum profits are what is most important. Might as well wait a few years to make sure these hot conditions become the norm before wasting profits to improve service. Solar panels on every roof would solve this problem, but the panels are much more expensive than they should be.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Probably "five times as much as", not "five times more".

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Yes it's been hot, but a Japanese friend of mine told me the stupidest thing. She said she refuses to use the AC at her home as it makes her body weaker and therefore her body cannot handle the heat. She went on to say she learned the so called "fact" from Japanese tv, but I have been so far unable to confirm her story.

People drink fluids, keep hydrated!!

Do not think you can build an immunity to heat that is complete crap!

1 ( +2 / -1 )

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