Japan Top 10

Japan this summer has been hot, with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees centigrade for extended periods. It has been so hot that it hurts to put your hands on the steering wheel when you pick up the car after leaving it in the parking lot.

Thankfully, the heat seems to have had an unexpected benefit: there are fewer reports than usual of children dying in hot cars when their parents went shopping. Or played pachinko.

When the temperature throughout the day goes above 35 degrees centigrade for extended periods, it seems even the most addicted pachinko players realize that even if they leave the engine running and keep the AC on, it gets too hot for kids. Not to speak of dogs.

It is too hot for many other things, too. You may not think about it in normal circumstances, but electronics have specified operating temperature ranges, and when it is hotter than 35 degrees for an extended period, the function deteriorates or stops altogether. That goes for the electronics in your car, too. There is no AC in the engine compartment. It actually gets worse when you are standing still and idling the engine to drive the air conditioner. The engine compartment gets hotter, and there is no passive cooling by the air flowing as you drive.

Walking is not an alternative. It means almost instant heatstroke. You will sweat as soon as you get out of the car. And that means parking close to the entrance becomes important. Even in Japan, there are many shopping centers with large parking lots, big enough for you to get throroughly sweaty until you get to the airconditioned building. Even if you do not get heatstroke.