Tokyo to waive water fees this summer to combat extreme heat

Basic water utility fees will be waived for residents of the Japanese capital Tokyo this summer in an effort to limit the impact of extreme heat.

Some ¥36bn ($250m; £186m) has been set aside for the subsidies, which will come into effect for a four-month period.

Heatstroke claimed a record 263 lives in Tokyo last summer, said the Bureau of Public Health. Many victims did not have air conditioning or chose not to use it because of high costs.

“We are worried that people might refrain from using their air conditioners because they are concerned about living expenses [and] considered what we could do to help pay their bills,” said Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, according to the Asahi Shimbun.

“We would like to create an environment in which all Tokyoites can live in peace even in the extremely hot weather we are expected to experience this summer,” Koike said.

By offsetting water costs, the government aims to encourage residents of the Japanese capital to use other cooling methods like air conditioning.

In more than 60% of heatstroke deaths recorded indoors last summer, the victims had not turned air conditioning on, the Tokyo Fire Department said, according to the Japan Times.

On average, base water fees in Tokyo cost between ¥860 ($6; £4.50) to ¥1,460 ($10; £7.50) per month, depending on the width of the household’s water pipe.

Additional fees – based on water usage and paid on top of base fees – will be charged at their usual rate.

Tokyo has more than 7 million households and a population of more than 14 million, according to government statistics.

Japan recorded its hottest summer on record last year.

Temperatures in June, July and August were 1.76 degrees higher than the average between 1991 and 2020, according to the Japan meteorological agency.

Between June and September, nearly 8,000 people in Tokyo were taken to hospitals for heatstroke – also a record – with a majority of deaths recorded among elderly people.