An agency spokesman warned that “unprecedented levels of heat” were being seen in some areas.
More than 22,000 people have been taken to hospital with heat stroke, nearly half of them elderly, officials say.
On Monday, the city of Kumagaya reported a temperature of 41.1C (106F), the highest ever recorded in Japan.
The heatwave shows no sign of abating, forecasters say.
In central Tokyo, temperatures over 40C were also registered for the first time.
The Japan Meteorological Agency warned that temperatures of 35C or higher would continue until early August.
“We are observing unprecedented levels of heat in some areas,” spokesman Motoaki Takekawa said, adding that the heatwave was “a threat to life and we recognise it as a natural disaster”.
In Ibaraki prefecture, north of Tokyo, a 91-year-old woman was found collapsed in a field and later pronounced dead in hospital. In nearby Saitama two elderly women were found dead in their homes.
With less than half of Japan’s public schools equipped with air conditioning, government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said the summer holidays could be extended to protect pupils.
“As a record heatwave continues to blanket the country, urgent measures are required to protect the lives of schoolchildren,” he told a news conference on Tuesday.
The public is being advised to drink plenty of water, to use air conditioning and to rest often.
People in some cities have taken part in an event known as uchimizu, or “water ceremony” – pouring or sprinkling cold water on to the hot pavements in an attempt to cool them.
The heatwave closely followed torrential rain that caused severe flooding and landslides in the west of Japan.
If only we knew what was likely causing these extreme weather conditions. I guess scientists are too busy wasting time and money on fake research to figure it out. idk
being half native, i am beyond tired of this reoccurring theme. for all of you cryptid fans, the wendigo, thunderbirds, skinwalkers, etc. are NOT cryptids. they are a part of indigenous culture and are spirits/entities, and not anything like mothman. they are religious and cultural folklore, despite the fact that cryptozoologists try to classify them as cryptids.
also, do not associate any non-indigenous oc’s with ANY spirits from native culture and folklore, as it is very insensitive (i.e. kylo ren wendigo, named “rendigo”) to the culture and considered white-washing. our culture, practices, and religion has already been stretched far and thin over the years. be respectful please.
Hey guys, I know you aren’t used to seeing posts like this from us, but just a reminder to be respectful about what gets called a cryptid! We don’t accept any submissions with skinwalkers, wendigos, or thunderbirds. If anyone sees any cryptids on this page that make them uncomfortable or that they feel are appropriating any particular cultural folklore for a joke, let me know and I will delete the post and make sure that I correct the issue going forward. Thanks!!
I want to add this Twitter thread for supplemental reading on why calling indigenous religions and elements of them “myths and legends” is inappropriate as well, since it seems sort of relevant
Excerpt:
“
I often get asked by teachers to provide lists of “myths and legends” of Indigenous peoples to incorporate into lessons and units. This always makes me wince.
Usually this is a unit with “myths and legends” from around the world, and teachers want to include something local. That’s good, I like the desire there. But there’s a real problem with labeling our specific stories as “myths and legends”.
Myths and legends aren’t real. But more than this, what is “myth” or “legend” and what is respected as “true”?
In Alberta we have a publicly funded Catholic school system. Do you think they teach the Catholic religion as “myths and legends”?
And even in the Public school system, which was once Protestant but is now supposedly secular…do you think that teachers have a “myths and legends” unit that includes the birth of Jesus? Or is it more likely we’re going to see stories about Greek gods and such?
It’s not at all the case that I want Indigenous creation stories, or our sacred stories, to be treated like religious texts.
I truly believe that organized religion, particularly Christianity (which is a de facto state religion in Canada and the U.S., let’s be honest here) is incommensurable with Indigenous spirituality.
Also, these words I’m using in English, “sacred”, “spiritual”, “myth”, “religion”… none of these words properly express the Cree concepts I’m thinking of. So much misunderstanding happens because folks try to interpret what they know nothing about (our spiritual beliefs)…
through the lens of European understandings of spirit/sacred/religion/etc. Anyway.
I don’t want schools acting like Indigenous folks want our beliefs to be treated like Christian beliefs.
But I do need educators to think about how they are framing our stories, how they are delegitimized as real knowledge from the get-go by labeling them myths and legends. So much about these stories is completely missed when they are presented as a fun fantasy yarn.“
(Métis lawyer, author, activist from manitow-sâkahikan or “Lac Ste. Anne” in Alberta)
She continues on in the thread to explain further, including suggestions and points of growth. I highly recommend reading the rest of the thread for those who haven’t already. It’s only been up 6 days and I’ve recommended reading it to folks in several conversations since.
I don’t wanna say anything bad about this kitten. there’s so much that could be said but I love him and want to protect him and will block anyone who says a single negative word against Igloo
Urocyon's Jaunts 2.0 
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