Japan’s wildfire‑like summer heat has taken a toll: over the last two months more than 53,000 people received treatment for heatstroke, while 79 deaths were reported.
Faced with this crisis, companies are rolling out the Do Hiemon—literally a “Cooling Box”—in public spaces and selling units to businesses. Each unit costs 1.5 million yen (about $9,407), and the design was inspired by the layout of freezer‑vending machines.
The BBC’s Tokyo correspondent, Kurumi Mori, demonstrated how these portable cool‑stations work, offering a glimpse into a low‑carbon, high‑utility solution for mitigating heat‑related health risks in urban Japan.
