A study by Japan’s National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES) and Waseda University warned that without a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, many areas of the country will become unsuitable for youth sports in the late afternoon – when school club activities like baseball, athletics and football typically take place.
The findings, published in the Environmental Health journal on March 10, highlight what researchers say is a looming crisis for children’s health, as Japan’s intense summer heat merges with a deeply ingrained sporting culture, creating conditions that could pose serious risks.
The issue is of particular concern to Takahiro Oyama, a researcher at the NIES Centre for Climate Change Adaptation and lead author of the report.
Children play in a water fountain in a Tokyo park, as a heatwave grips Japan in July 2018. Japan faces potential outdoor sports bans for children by 2060 due to soaring summer temperatures. Photo: AFP
“When I was at school I did track and field sports through the summer and I experienced heat illness several times,” he told This Week in Asia. “At that time, around 20 years ago, our teachers did not realise that it was such a problem, although that has changed now and people are more aware.”