A thermometer shows the temperature is 37 degrees Celsius, or 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit, as a man cycles up a walkway during an extremely hot day on August 31, 2025 in Tanbasasayama, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. Temperatures reached dangerous levels in some parts of Japan on Sunday, with heatstroke warnings issued in 28 prefectures.
(Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe/Getty Images)
A brutal heat wave in Japan has set nationwide records and continues to deliver punishing heat across the country.
On July 30, the country hit the highest temperature ever recorded, measuring 106.16 degrees in Samba city, south of Tokyo. That new record did not last a full week. On August 5, the Gunma region north of Tokyo recorded a temperature of 107.2 degrees.
The Japan Meteorological Agency has been keeping records since 1898.
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In the past month, more than fifteen Japanese cities including Kyoto, Toyama, and Komatsu broke their local heat records. Heat stroke warnings have been issued in 44 of the country’s 47 prefectures over the course of August.
In 2024, AP News reported that more than 120 people died of heatstroke in Tokyo during that summer’s heat.
Though today marks the official last day of meteorological summer, temperatures in the high 90s are predicted to continue this week in many locations around the country.
AloJapan.com