© Toru Yamanaka/AFPChildren enjoy bathing in the fountain at a park in Tokyo on July 26, 2014.
A quarter of the agency's 927 observation stations recorded 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) or higher yesterday, the most so far this year, the Mainichi newspaper reported. Today's highest temperature reached 38.8 Celsius in Otsuki city, 75 kilometers (46 miles) west of Tokyo, as of 12:31 p.m., the agency's website showed.
Fifteen of those taken to hospitals yesterday suffering from the heat remained seriously ill, the Yomiuri newspaper reported today. Yesterday's high was 38.8 Celsius, in the central Japanese city of Higashiomi, a record for the location, according to agency data stretching back to 1978. Four of 10 of the hottest locations yesterday set record highs.
Temperatures in Tokyo may surpass 30 Celsius each day this the week, according to the agency's forecast.
Five people were taken to a hospital yesterday with breathing difficulties after a high school baseball game near the central Japan city of Nagoya, Yomiuri reported without clarifying if they were players or fans. The day's high in the area was 36.1 Celsius at 54 percent humidity, according to weather agency data. Six people at a different game were also hospitalized, Yomiuri said.
Regional playoffs for entry to the annual high-school baseball championship tournament continued to be played today.
The meteorological agency has also issued warnings and advisories of severe thunderstorms and flooding throughout most of the nation. An afternoon tornado alert for the Tokyo region was also posted on its website.
It's not complicated.