appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Julian Ryall

Japan is likely to face another record-setting summer, climate experts have warned, as global warming continues to shrink Arctic ice, alter wind patterns and heat ocean waters.
The Japan Meteorological Agency on Tuesday released its seasonal forecast for the coming months, predicting a 60 per cent probability of above-normal temperatures across Kyushu, Shikoku and the southern and eastern parts of Honshu between June and August.
The southern islands of Okinawa, the northern prefecture of Hokkaido and the six most northerly prefectures on Honshu each have a 50 per cent likelihood of elevated temperatures, according to the agency.
Another record-breaking summer could extend Japan’s recent trend of extreme heat, with 2025 standing as the hottest year on record. Average temperatures between June and August this year are expected to be 2.36 degrees Celsius (4.25 degrees Fahrenheit) above the 30-year average, surpassing the 1.76 degrees (3.17 degrees Fahrenheit) above average reported last year.
Of 153 meteorological stations across the country, 132 recorded record new highs in 2025. Temperatures reached 41.8 degrees Celsius (107.2 degrees Fahrenheit) in Isesaki, Gunma prefecture, on August 5 – the highest ever in Japan – while 30 locations across 13 prefectures reported readings above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).
Yoshihiro Tachibana, a professor in Mie University’s Department of Environmental Science and Technology, said the mercury could climb to another all-time high this year.
“I am not at all surprised at the meteorological agency’s forecast for the summer,” he said in an interview.

“The basic problem is that the sea surface temperature in the tropical ocean is much higher than normal, around 2 degrees above the usual level, and in the mid-latitudes around Japan it is as much as 3 degrees higher.”
Last year, westerly winds tended to shift to more northerly latitudes, resulting in a larger tropical air mass lingering over the Japanese archipelago, Tachibana said. The same conditions are almost certain to return this year.
Shrinking Arctic ice is another contributing factor, affecting the course of the jet stream, he added.
On Monday, Tokyo recorded a high of 23 degrees (73.4 degrees Fahrenheit) – unusually warm for late winter and more typical for May. The capital saw only 1.5mm (0.06 inches) of rain last month.
Peak temperatures reached 25 degrees (77 degrees Fahrenheit) along the eastern coast, according to local media reports.
While the northern and western parts of Japan saw record snowfall this winter, precipitation has been scarce in the east, prompting warnings of drought in some areas.
The city of Maebashi received just 0.5 mm (0.02 inches) of rain between January 6 and February 18, about 1 per cent of the average for that time period.


Nagoya city is experiencing its worst drought in 30 years, with the Takihata reservoir – the largest in Osaka prefecture – at just one-fifth of capacity as of February 19. Two reservoirs in Nagoya are even lower, at 12 per cent, according to local media.
The lack of rainfall has hurt agriculture, with reduced vegetable output pushing up prices.
Tachibana warned that another potential El Nino event could further warm regional waters and drive Japan’s temperatures even higher in the months ahead.
“We are watching, but at the moment nobody knows if an El Nino is coming. But if one does occur, then temperatures worldwide will be higher than normal,” he said.


A new Trump-Kim summit would be a nightmare for everyone but Pyongyang

Warning against Japan’s military build-up surfaces at Beijing Xiangshan conference

After the US Fed’s rate increase, will China still move ahead with monetary easing?

‘Provocation’ could accelerate Taiwan reunification, retired PLA major general says

Japan

Japan set to endure another record hot summer as global warming persists

A man cooling down under a water misting system on a hot day in Tokyo in September last year. Photo: AFP 

People walk on a hot day in Kumagaya, Saitama prefecture, Japan, last August. Photo: Kyodo

Japan’s Takaichi revives push to criminalise defacing flag

Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks next to a Japanese national flag during a press conference at the LDP headquarters in Tokyo on February 9. Photo: Reuters

People wave flags at Japan’s Emperor Naruhito during a public appearance marking his 66th birthday at the Imperial Palace on Monday. Photo: AP

People in Tokyo attend a campaign event for Japan’s far-right Sanseito party in January ahead of the lower house election. Photo: AP

Fears mount over Japanese reporter detained in Iran being used as ‘hostage diplomacy’

The aftermath of an Israeli strike on Evin Prison, Iran, in June. Photo: West Asia News Agency via Reuters 

An F/A-18F Super Hornet prepares to land on the flight deck of the US Navy’s Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea last week. Photo: Handout via Reuters

A vehicle firing a missile during a military exercise by members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps and navy in the Gulf on February 16. Photo: AFP/Handout/Sepahnews 

In Japan, plan to give cash rewards for reporting illegal migrant workers divides opinion

People walking at JR Mito station in Ibaraki prefecture in eastern Japan. Photo: Kyodo

An Indonesian works at a factory in Oizumi, Gunma prefecture, Japan. Photo: AFP

People protest against a bill to accept more foreign workers in Japan in front of the parliament building in Tokyo in 2018. Photo: Kyodo

Future of Japan’s ‘naked festival’ in doubt after 3 men left unconscious

Participants at the Saidaiji “naked festival” gather inside the temple hall before sacred talismans are thrown in Okayama City on Saturday. Photo: Kyodo

This Week in Asia

Health & Environment

News

Asia

East Asia

Various regions across Japan are expected to register above-normal temperatures between June and August, the weather agency says


Various regions across Japan are expected to register above-normal temperatures between June and August, the weather agency says.


Japan set to endure another record hot summer as global warming persists

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Various regions across Japan are expected to register above-normal temperatures between June and August, the weather agency says

Various regions across Japan are expected to register above-normal temperatures between June and August, the weather agency says