Japan Farmers Shift To Night Shifts To Escape Extreme Heat
By Alex Chen/Ted Chen/Ai Chi
Farming After Dark
Nocturnal Farming in Japan
REPORTER:
With one heat wave after another, Japan keeps shattering temperature records this year. The country’s weather agency had to coin a new term to better warn the public about dangerous heat levels.
REPORTER:
A “kokushobi” is a cruelly hot day, where temperatures reach 40 degrees Celsius. Amid this climate trend, farmers have taken to working after dark to avoid the scorching heat of the day.
REPORTER:
More than a hundred kilometers north of Tokyo, flower farmer Iijima Motoaki now takes to his fields only after the sun goes down.
Iijima Motoaki (FLOWER FARMER):
We were concerned about our workers’ physical safety, and even their lives, since temperatures are rising every year, so we decided to switch to harvesting and doing other tasks at night. We've gradually become nocturnal. It's about protecting our bodies, and ultimately, our lives.
REPORTER:
He made the drastic change three summers ago after a part-time worker suffered heatstroke picking sunflowers in his greenhouse.
REPORTER:
It’s become a life-and-death matter, especially given the average age of farmers in the country. Around 70% of farmers in Japan are 65 or older, and more susceptible to heat stress, especially in Japan’s humid climate.
REPORTER:
About an hour’s drive away, poultry farmer Usuba Tetsuya is also turning to night operations, after a huge loss of livestock in 2020.
Usuba Tetsuya (POULTRY FARMER):
The temperature was very hot, and more than 500 chickens died in this shed and the next one over. Chickens don’t tend to eat when it’s hot, so what we’re doing is we wake the chickens up when it’s cooler during the night and getting them to eat then.
REPORTER:
The amount of working hours lost to heat translates to nearly 1 percent of GDP. The government is taking action, introducing new regulations requiring employers to set up heatstroke response and reporting procedures.
REPORTER:
The country is also promoting smart farming technologies such as drones and robots to reduce workers’ heat exposure.
REPORTER:
While government initiatives and smart tech take time to scale up, Japanese farmers are holding the line after the sun goes down.
