More than 120 people died in Tokyo from heatstroke in July

Pedestrian holding parasols stand under the intense sun at Ginza shopping street in Tokyo (Eugene Hoshiko/AP)

More than 120 people died of heatstroke in the Tokyo metropolitan area in July, when the nation’s average temperature hit record highs and heat warnings were in effect for much of the month, Japanese authorities have said.

According to the Tokyo Medical Examiner’s Office, many of the 123 people who died were elderly.