Heatwave in Japan kills 65 people in one week

An “unprecedented” heatwave in Japan has killed at least 65 people in one week, officials said Tuesday. The weather agency has classified the record-breaking weather as a “natural disaster.” In the week to Sunday at least 65 people died of heat stroke while 22,647 people were hospitalized, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said. Both figures are “the worst-ever for any week during summer” since the agency began recording fatalities resulting from heat stroke in July 2008, AFP quoted an agency spokesman as saying. The agency said Tuesday that a total of 80 people have died from the heat since the beginning of July, and over 35,000 have been hospitalized.