Japan's farmers go nocturnal as deadly heat intensifies

In Japan, farmers are increasingly working through the night, transforming their agrarian schedules into a nocturnal rhythm to survive increasingly deadly heatwaves. Motoaki Iijima, a flower farmer north of Tokyo, now harvests his gerberas under the glow of halogen lights, avoiding the fierce daytime sun that has become a significant threat.

This shift is a survival tactic. With daytime temperatures frequently exceeding 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) and greenhouse interiors climbing above 40 C, working outdoors during the day is a mortal risk. Iijima, who converted his family's rice farm to flowers a decade ago, made the drastic change after a worker suffered heatstroke three years ago. "The hours around dusk are really precious. That's when we can be outside," he says. "We've gradually become nocturnal. It's about protecting our bodies, and ultimately, our lives."

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The hours around dusk are really precious. That's when we can be outside. We've gradually become nocturnal. It's about protecting our bodies, and ultimately, our lives.

The toll on Japan's aging farming population is stark. Around 70% of farmers are 65 or older, making them particularly vulnerable to heat stress, which is amplified by high humidity. In 2024 alone, a record 59 agricultural workers died from extreme heat, more than double the 2021 figure. A survey by the Japan Weather Association found that nearly 60% of farmers had either personally suffered heatstroke or knew someone who had, prompting almost the same percentage to shift their working hours.

Beyond the human cost, the economic impact is substantial. According to Lancet Countdown, heat exposure cost Japan's agricultural sector 926 million labor hours in 2024 – time that could not be safely spent in the fields. This translates to roughly $46 billion in lost income, about 1% of Japan's gross domestic product. Farmers like 68-year-old Miyoko Asada now arrive shortly after sunrise, racing against the clock before temperatures become unsafe, while poultry farmer Tetsuya Usuba faces the crisis of losing hundreds of laying hens to heatstroke during heat spells.

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We've got to race against the clock.