Tokyo's fire department reported 453 heat-related hospitalisations on Wednesday — the highest daily figure since records began in 2010 — as a severe heatwave gripped Japan, leaving one person dead and four in a critical condition in the capital alone. Temperatures exceeded 40°C at four locations across central Japan, prompting authorities to describe the extreme heat as a "disaster"; nearly 11,000 people sought emergency medical care nationwide in the past week, with 14 pronounced dead on arrival. Japan introduced a new term this year — "kokushobi" (cruelly hot day) — to describe temperatures above 40°C, reflecting growing official concern over worsening heat extremes that scientists link to human-induced climate change.