Meiwa, Japan: The record-high temperatures and sweltering weather that hit Japan this summer did not stop 77-year-old farmer Yasuyuki Kurosawa from tending to his crops.
Kurosawa, who grows rice, cabbage, wheat and corn in Meiwa, a city in eastern Gunma Prefecture, is one of nearly a million mostly elderly Japanese who still make their living from farming and who face a greater risk than most of falling ill or even dying from the heat.
“This is something we can’t avoid, so we have to do what we have to do, even if it’s hot,” he said.
Agriculture accounts for about 1 percent of Japan’s economy, and nearly 70 percent of the 1.4 million farmers are aged 65 or over.
According to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, the number of people working in agriculture and fishing who had to be hospitalized for heat stroke in July was 877, almost five times as many as in June.
In 2022, 29 farmers died of heat stroke.
Authorities have issued heat-related illness warnings this year as temperatures soared to 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in several cities. Some parts of Tokyo and other areas of the country also recorded record temperatures for this time of year.
The heat is particularly challenging for farmers like Kurosawa, who works from 5:30 a.m. to noon and then takes a break until about 3:30 p.m. to avoid being outside during the hottest hours of the day.
Yukihiro, his 39-year-old son and also a farmer, said he drinks about 10 bottles of liquid a day to stay hydrated. He also wears a jacket with fans and said he is worried that this extreme heat is becoming more common.
“The heat record is broken every year and I am worried about the situation,” he said, sweat beading on his forehead. “Even though it is hot outside and we are afraid, we have to do it and at the same time take precautions against the heat.”
Published 28 August 2024, 04:05 IS
