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Businesses across Japan are cutting employee working hours, and the World Cosplay Summit is shifting its dates to cooler months, as the country grapples with intensifying extreme heat.
According to Kyodo News, leading construction and real estate companies in the country have reduced working hours due to the extreme heat and installed prefabricated, air-conditioned toilets equipped with ventilation systems at construction sites.
In this context, a construction company in Japan rescheduled working hours at its construction sites from 08:00-17:00 to 07:00-13:00 in July and August.
Company officials stated that this decision was made to reduce the risk of heatstroke and that if delays are anticipated in the project schedule, working hours will be increased during cooler times.
At another company's construction sites, modular toilet units equipped with ventilation and cooling systems were installed. As the effects of extreme heat intensify, many companies across Japan are implementing similar measures to protect their employees.
The extreme heat has also disrupted other major events in the country. Cosplayers at this year's World Cosplay Summit in Nagoya endured temperatures forecast to hit 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) on the event's final day, prompting organizers to shift next year's edition to cooler November dates.
The three-day event draws more than 250,000 people from around the world to embody manga, animation, and video game characters. "Since around the end of the COVID pandemic, Japan has been getting increasingly warmer," said Tokumaru Oguri, chief executive of the WCS, urging participants to stay hydrated and monitor their physical condition.
Scientists say human-induced climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme heat events in Japan. The country had its hottest summer on record last year.
Some participants adjusted their outfits to cope, choosing lighter fabrics like linen and cotton, while others said the multiple layers typical of competition costumes make the heat especially difficult to manage.
Cosplayers said the move to November would allow for more elaborate costume designs going forward.
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