Photo/Illutration Children play freely on July 3 under the massive shade structure set up in the yard of Genkai Yurinoki Kindergarten in Munakata, Fukuoka Prefecture. (Takeshi Komiya)

As Japan continues to roast in sweltering summer heat, teachers and administrators nationwide are fighting to keep children cool at school—and safe from potentially lethal heatstroke—while learning, playing and exercising.

IMPARTING SKILLS

In Tajimi, Gifu Prefecture, where daily temperatures have exceed 40 degrees more times than anywhere else in the country, elementary and junior high schools are encouraging students to take heat-protective measures, such as taking parasols with them to school.

“We want to teach the children daily habits that will empower them to deal with extreme heat safely,” said Nobuhiko Hayashi, the principal of Seika Elementary School.

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Pupils at Seika Elementary School in Tajimi, Gifu Prefecture, walk home holding parasols after class on July 4. (Tadashi Mizowaki)

On July 4, Hayashi’s students trotted home after class hidden from the sun beneath a sea of brilliantly colored parasols.

The mercury exceeded 35 degrees that day.

MADE IN THE SHADE 

Until last year, it had been impossible for the children at Genkai Yurinoki Kindergarten in Munakata, Fukuoka Prefecture, to play outdoors during the blistering summer months.

However, believing that “contact with nature and playing to the fullest is essential for childhood development,” the kindergarten invested 40 million yen ($254,000) to install a massive shade structure over the school yard.

It took over two years to calculate the equipment’s proper resistance to earthquakes and storms, but finally the kids had a shady place to catch bugs and play in the water outside.

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Kendo club members at Aterazawa High School in Oe, Yamagata Prefecture, cool off in front of a spot cooler following their practice session on July 9. (Shota Tomonaga)

On July 3, the children ran energetically around the school yard, protected from the blazing sun by the 25-by-30-meter shade structure.

Refreshing breezes occasionally blew through in the softened sunlight.

“We will be taking other precautions against the heat, too, by making sure the children stay hydrated and take regular breaks so they can play safely and securely as they wish,” said Michiko Takasugi, vice principal of Genkai Yurinoki Kindergarten.

COOL SPOTS

But even when out of the direct sunlight, the risk of heatstroke remains a real threat for many students.

According to the Japan Sport Council, there were confirmed 26 deaths from heatstroke during school club activities between fiscal 2007 and fiscal 2022—six of which occurred indoors, in school gymnasiums and other buildings.

Despite this, few school gyms have installed air conditioning due to the high costs. An increasing number of schools have been seeking affordable alternatives.

Yamagata Prefecture installed “spot coolers,” portable air conditioning units, into the gyms and dojos of all 42 of its public high schools this year.

The installation was prompted by the death of a junior high school girl in Yonezawa city, who collapsed from apparent heatstroke on her way home from school club activities last July.

The prefectural government said installing a single spot cooler cost 1 million yen.

“Though the equipment’s introduction cannot provide a radical solution to the issue, we have started with what we can do first,” explained a prefectural representative.

One such unit was installed in the gymnasium of Aterazawa High School in Oe, Yamagata Prefecture—much to the relief of Hatsune Oguri, 17, a third-year student in the school’s kendo club.

Oguri had once nearly collapsed from the heat during kendo practice, but said, “With this, we can easily cool down.”

 (This article was written by Tadashi Mizowaki, Takeshi Komiya and Shota Tomonaga.)

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