A jacket with built-in fans, a road coating that reins in heat, and factory mist sprayers were on offer at a three-day trade fair in Tokyo that wrapped up Friday as the capital struggles with record heat two years before it hosts the Summer Olympics.
Summer here has always been hot and humid, but a heat wave this year has brought unprecedented scorching temperatures in some areas, killing at least 14 in Tokyo since the start of July and sending thousands nationwide to hospital.
The high in Tokyo was 34.8 C, while in Kyoto it reached around 39.8 C on the sixth straight day of temperatures at 38 C or more — a level unseen since record-keeping began.
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