Japan's climate-adaptation playbook offers lessons for U.S. businesses facing hotter summers

During a recent trip to Tokyo, the author experienced temperatures that triggered Japan's "cruelly hot day" warning and witnessed a historic downpour in Chiba that stranded travelers, disrupted power and killed at least eight people. The government has responded by enforcing stricter heat-stroke prevention regulations, mandating reporting, cooling provisions and medical response plans for employers. Corporations are acting too: Obayashi Corp. shifted construction shifts to later in the day, Seibu Railway installed air-conditioned rest zones, and many firms now provide cooling garments, salt tablets, fans and heat-monitoring devices.

Japan's near-universal household air-conditioning and the deployment of agricultural robots further shield workers from heat stress. Nonetheless, the author cautions that merely rescheduling work does not address the root causes of extreme weather, noting Allianz's estimate that France, Italy and Spain could suffer cumulative GDP losses of up to 7% by 2030 due to heat. With U.S. climate policy stalled, the column urges American executives to consider how much heat they can endure before adopting comparable adaptation strategies.