Japan Homes and Heat Stress: Updated July 6, 2026.

Japan survey finds nearly 80% stressed by heat at home as scorching summer looms

Ideas

Japan, the last few summers or maybe longer have had record high summer temperatures and it looks like it's going to be the same again this summer.

Back in around 2005 the Japanese government started a PR campaign called "Cool Biz" as a way to encourage Japanese company workers to go to work without a tie or even a suit jacket and might have suggested companies keep the temperature as a certain level to avoid energy blackouts during the peak work times.

Back in the summer of 2011, just after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in the Tohoku region, I was in a Yokohama and even there at Yokohama station metro complex many of the stores in the complex were running their air conditioners at a low level and you could feel they were not on that high to save energy and avoid energy blackouts in the Tokyo area.

Most likely, as always many Japanese consumers are probably, if they can, go to the major metro complex or train station areas which are large shopping areas as a way to avoid the heat at their homes and avoid running their air conditioners too much.

But the problem is, being in Yokohama for many summers on and off, there just aren't a lot of places to just sit for an hour or so to cool down. And even the few coffee shops there don't really have a lot of tables or chairs and they can get filled up very quickly in the mornings and some might stay there for a long time, preventing other consumers from going there.

If a person was to go to landmark tower in Yokohama there are two Starbucks coffee shops and one large coffee shop on the far east side of Landmark where shoppers can stop get a drink and take some time to cool off if needed, but the two Starbucks will again fill up very quickly as people tend to stay there for a while too. And there always seems to be long lines at the two Starbucks during the summer season.

Not to criticize but in South Korea, in Seoul, there seems to be a coffee shop on every corner and even there they can fill up very fast when the summer heat become too much, but in Japan, at least in the Tokyo area, there just doesn't seem to be that many coffee shops were people can go and sit for a while to get out of the heat, have a drink, and cool off some.

So they have to go to the major metro shopping and train station areas where at least can walk around in a cool air conditioned environment and go eye shopping or something to keep from running their home air conditioners all day and all night.

The problem is, as always, is the challenge for the low-income households or families and what they can do and they might to go to the major metro train shopping areas but can they afford to just go there everyday to get out of the heat without spending a lot of money there at the same time.

It has been suggested and very much needed for the Japanese government is going to have energy subsidies for the summer months as most if not all families, expect the upper-income groups are going to be significantly affected by the summer heat.

And unfortunately, as Japan is an super ageing society, there are going to many aged people who are going to be severely affected by the heat and Japanese hospitals and clinics are probably on-call now for a surge in heat related challenges with aged groups.

Again, whether positive or negative many of the major train metro shopping areas in Tokyo just are not designed for people to sit for a long time. Yes, there are a lot of restaurants in the metro shopping areas but they too fill up very fast at 11:00 the starting time for lunch and to be fair they are not designed for people to sit there all day and cool off.

Yes, heatstroke at night is a major problem in Japan and especially for the aged or even those on fixed incomes or even those on low-incomes that can't afford to run their air conditioners all day and all night. 

At the same time, being in Yokohama off and on during many summers, many people would carry simple air coolers in their hand as a way to try and keep cool.

If not yet, some Japanese company, for the good of society, should develop a small and economical air conditioner that families can buy at a very cheap reasonable price to help the aged, the fixed income, and the low-income families that can't afford to run their home air conditioners all the time.

But maybe that's asking too much these days when everything revolves around profits, greed, and what shareholders want every quarter.

Yes, many years ago, when there were few air conditioners open windows and even doors and even homes were all designed to be much cooler than today. But today, with global warming, everything related to the heat and even sun exposure has significantly intensified and what worked decades ago doesn't seem to work these days and expect for many some EU countries, such as France, most people have become used to having air conditioners and now feel like they can't live without them.

Its logical to think that maybe some homes can go back to how they were designed decades ago but to people want to live that way again after they've become accustomed to having air conditioner in their homes, or can they afford to remodel their homes to be more energy efficient and reduce the heat buildup in their homes.

Have a nice day!

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260702/p2a/00m/0na/022000c

Japan Real Wages: Updated October 17, 2024

Japan real wages log 1st fall in 3 months amid continued price rise

Article Source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20241008/p2g/00m/0bu/004000c

Ideas:

Wages increases in Japan are good and very much needed, but a 5% increase in wages is one time situation, usually in April, but inflation is not a one time situation as it can increase anytime as it as in Japan a lot since the pandemic.

Japanese households saw marked increase in June, but after June reality set in with more inflation after that which might have made the wage increase moot meaning the higher purchasing power only lasted a few months.

A 0.6 percent drop in real wages is really not that much, but for some it might a challenge to keep their heads above water as inflation continue to increase, but yes, at a slower rate.

Unfortunately, globally, just before elections politicians always make a lot of noise about what they are going to do, but in reality, some or many always do something different, as the situation in office is always different than what they can really do.

Consumer spending in Japan is never where is should be, as Japanese consumers just don't spend like US or even EU consumers, as they are more savers. In itself that's not a good or bad thing  but different cultures do different things, as the average Japanese consumers just doesn't go on big spending sprees like maybe in the US.

There is a definite labor shortage in Japan now, as there was recent article about some/many companies going bankrupt because they couldn't find the workers they needed because they were unable to meet the new demands of workers who want higher wages.

Price increases might be slowing, but are they slowing enough so that the average Japanese consumer can feel anything good from the recent wage increases.

Nominal wages are just wages including inflation, so they really don't mean much for the average consumer.

Subsidies are good but they shouldn't be depended on for a long time as they are meant to be a short-term help, but the market, if all possible. should be able to control inflation, which it hasn't in Japan for a long time.

The average wages of 3.0 was good, but the problem is inflation continues to increase every month, for example 3.5 in August and 3.2 in July etc. 

So even though Japanese workers see an increase in wages, usually just once in April, inflation continues to increase every month. Bonuses are good but they don't happen every month usually just twice a year in Japan.

So, again,  a wage increase of 3.0 is good, but inflation increased 3.5 and 3.2 respectively, and that just the months shown here, as we most likely it was the same or similar in other other months too.

Nominal wages really don't mean much as its real wages that are important. Nominal wages are wages not adjusted to inflation, so inflation might be part of the nominal wage.

Household spending or consumer spending is never where is should be in Japan. And as inflation continues to grip the Japanese economy, consumers in Japan, as anywhere, continue to cutback on their spending.

Of course maybe the hot summer months might have had something to do with the decrease in spending as maybe consumers didn't go out as much, as or they went to the malls to get out of the heat, but still didn't spend that much.

The typhoon situation in Japan is always going to reduce some economic activity, and this season was no different. And then add in the earthquake advisory and that made people even more cautious about what do to. 

Household spending supposedly makes up about 50 percent of Japan's GDP, but in reality, Japanese consumers don't seem to be spending that much since the pandemic as inflation seems to have curbed spending, and not even after the pandemic or even before the pandemic Japanese consumers haven't been spending like they do in the US or in the EU.

Japanese households have always been more savers than spenders as saving is a big part to the Japanese culture, but for Japan to get out of its current stagnation, there needs to be a better balance and not just all savings but some spending too in the Japanese economy.

Have a nice day!