Since the 3/11 earthquake, all the people in eastern Japan have been required to cut electricity consumption because not only the Fukushima plant but also other power plants have been seriously damaged and many of them haven't fully recovered yet. Because of this, we hoped that this summer wouldn't be very hot. We don't want to imagine that this summer will be as hot as last summer. As far as I remember, I felt that 33℃ wasn't hot during last summer. Temperatures in a lot of places throughout Japan often trumped tropical countries.
Contrary to our hope, heat waves have unexpectedly come to Japan despite it being June. It's been reported that in June, more people than usual have been taken by ambulance to the hospital because of heat stroke. It seems that both great efforts to cut electricity consumption and the sudden surge in temperatures have caused the increase in heat stroke patients. Given this situation, I'm wondering how we can beat the heat without relying on as much electricity as we did.
Companies located in Tokyo and some prefectures where TEPCO supplies electricity have been struggling to find ways to cut electricity consumption since they are officially required to reduce the consumption by 15% at least. If they fail to meet the requirement, they will have to pay a fine. To maintain competitive power in the global market, some drastic changes will be necessary. To make matters worse, there will be a shortage of electricity in a large part of Japan if the government and electricity companies can't persuade local people and governments involved to agree with resuming the operation of nuclear power reactors which were shut down for annual regular maintenance required by the law.
Under these circumstances, all the people are required to seriously think about their lifestyles. On top of that, a doctor says that now is a good opportunity to strengthen your weak body functions. According to him, since people usually live in a comfortable environment, not only grown-ups but also children have fewer opportunities to sweat than years ago, which has weaken perspiration function which is important in preventing heat stroke.
