Photo/Illutration The Tokyo Fire Department (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

More than 1,500 people were taken to a hospital with symptoms of heatstroke in Tokyo over a week during the recent long heat wave, according to the Tokyo Fire Department. 

The fire department’s statistics showed the figure over the week through July 3 more than tripled from the 449 recorded a week earlier to 1,568. 

The number excludes cases in Inagi and islands south of the capital.

Daytime highs hit 35 degrees or above in central Tokyo for the ninth straight day on July 3, setting a new record for the area.

The number of people rushed to a hospital for symptoms of heatstroke began surging on June 25, when the mercury topped 35 degrees in central Tokyo for the first time this year, according to the fire department.

Around 200 such patients have been taken to a hospital each day since June 27. The figure rose to 301, the highest for this season, on July 1, when central Tokyo recorded a daytime high of 37 degrees.

People in their 70s or older accounted for more than half of the 1,568 cases. Of these, 127 were aged 90 or older, 389 were in their 80s and 294 were in their 70s.

Twenty cases were life-threatening, up 18 from the preceding week. The figure for those in serious condition rose by 47 to 58, while cases with moderate symptoms surged by 456 to 589.

Many people also died amid the recent heat wave in Tokyo's 23 wards.

Data from the Tokyo Medical Examiner's Office showed 52 people were confirmed to have died from suspected heatstroke over the week through July 3. Forty-nine of them died indoors, while air conditioners were not used in at least 42 of the cases.

Twenty-seven of the deaths were among men, while the rest were women. Forty-five, or nearly 90 percent of the cases, were those in their 70s or older.

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