Elderly couple found dead in Tokyo home; heatstroke suspected

There was an air conditioner in the room but only a fan was turned on

If only they turn on the air conditioner, they might still alive.

Many seniors in Japan seem to believe in the myth that air from an aircon is somehow unhealthy. It's nonsense, of course. Yet, the belief persists.

It may also be a case of living on a meager pension, and therefor trying to keep their monthly expenses down. But, moderate use of an aircon on sweltering days. 28 or even 30 degrees, while uncomfortable, is certainly enough to prevent death, and shouldn't impact the electric bill too badly.

We had to install air conditioners that were impossible to unplug and control then using smartphone app. As my father-in-law kept unplugging them if we hide the remote controls!!!

But, moderate use of an aircon on sweltering days. 28 or even 30 degrees, while uncomfortable, is certainly enough to prevent death, and shouldn't impact the electric bill too badly.

Define "too badly"? Depending upon the age of the a/c unit, and the house or dwelling they lived in, the costs could be extremely high!

Until we removed all the "old" a/c units in our house, our electrical bills in summer would be as high as 40,000 a month, vs 8,000 to 10,000 normally. All because of a/c use.

It can and DOES affect electrical bills a whole hell of a lot. The national government is directly to blame for it's policies!

There ought to be a subsidy for energy bills for lower income people.

As Yubaru stated, energy costs put some people in the position of choosing food, or energy, but not both.

They went together, at home, but it’s despicable that they had to die of the heat!

RIP

Probably worried about paying the electricity bill.

Very sad way of dying, if anything I am suprised more cases have not happened with the current temperatures and electricity prices.

No surprise there. The government is promising people points if they keep AC off or if you they use it in some ridiculous range of 28 C or above.

Of course trust experts from TV, newspapers or from the government like with Fukushima etc.

Each and every of us has different tolerance to high temperatures and it depends from many factors.

I keep my AC on 21 day and night, I don't need the government points I can pay bills myself and have comfortable summer. However I'm annoyed of the fact that so many people are being lured by the government and risk their life.

That's very sad news ...

I just read up on this a bit -

"Doctors say a group of physical changes makes older people sense heat differently. Not only are they comfortable at higher temperatures than younger folks, but their bodies don't shed heat in the same way. In addition, they may not realize they are overheating. Put it all together, and older people are at greater risk for serious health problems and death at the height of summer."

It could be the case that they thought they were fine until it was too late.

There are smart monitoring devices that can check room temperatures remotely and remotely check elderly vitals for sudden changes. Sounds like the J-caretaker industry is not modernized as other nations.

Year in year out we get this type of news. When is someone going to do something about it?

Only by chance a few summers ago I kept my air con on 24/7 and thought OMG my electricity bill is going to be through the roof, but to my surprise it was no more expensive than turning it off and on. What I heard that the air con, when starting up each and every time takes a lot of power and so that is why there is not much difference in the cost. I also only use one A/C for my entire place, and I cut down the use of my lights in my house not only in summer but all year round and so my bills run between 3,000 yen to max 10,000 yen but it will be interesting to see what my bill will be this month will the rise of power.

so my bills run between 3,000 yen to max 10,000 yen but it will be interesting to see what my bill will be this month will the rise of power.

3000 yen a month sounds implausibly cheap (not calling your claim untrue, but can't understand it). I don't think lighting makes much difference, but it's the things that do the heavy work cost money - things with moving parts, such as fans, heaters, air-conditioning, washing machines. Newer stuff obviously works more efficiently.

@travelbangaijin Which countries are using such sophisticated monitoring systems for their old people?

Very sorry to hear about this happening.

I have read that more people are dying from the heat than from all other natural disasters, combined. Heat is something to be taken seriously.

We had solar panels installed on the roof a few years back, and our electric bills since then have been very manageable. Some years we even get a refund from the electric utility. For those able to do the same, it is a good deal. For those with a house but unable to afford solar panels, at least one of the companies installing them over here offers a program wherein they pay the cost of the panels and for installation, and the monthly charge is still much less than what it was without the panels. We know some people who went that route. However, the savings are even better if one can afford to purchase the panels outright.

I have also read that those who can afford it are even going the heat pump route, wherein cool air its pumped in during the summer, and warm air is pumped in during the winter, from underground. Haven't looked into it, but I imagine it is more expensive than solar panels.