35 deaths, 7,071 hospitalized due to heatstroke in one-week period

National Aug. 17, 2011 - 06:50AM JST

TOKYO —

The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said Tuesday that the number of people who were taken to hospital due to heatstroke last week marked the highest so far this summer. For the week of Aug 8-14, the agency said that 7,071 people, suffering from heatstroke, were taken to hospitals throughout the country.

Meanwhile, NHK reported that 35 people died of heatstroke during the same one-week period. Twelve of those deaths occurred at night, the network said.

Since June 1, a total of 35,436 people have been hospitalized due to heatstroke, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said that temperatures are expected to stay around the 35-degree mark nationwide until the weekend.

Japan Today