How to Prevent Heatstroke and Save Electricity on Air Conditioning

Hello everyone.

Welcome to "Learn Japanese from the News."

Chiara, I see you're wearing a summer kimono.

Yes, well, it just doesn't feel like summer if I don't go out to a festival or fireworks show wearing a yukata.

Right, yes, you see a lot of people wearing yukata in the summer.

And this summer, Japan is being hit with record-breaking temperatures.

Our headline for today is: How to Prevent Heatstroke and Save Electricity on Air Conditioning.

Before we go to the news clip, let's go over some words to listen for.

"necchuushoo."

heatstroke.

"eakon."

air conditioner.

"shitsugaiki."

This word refers to the outdoor unit of an air conditioner.

"senpuuki."

electric fan.

OK, let's watch the news clip.

During the week ending June 26, 4,551 people in Japan were rushed
to hospitals due to heat stroke.

That's more than three times
the number for the previous week.

It's important to use air conditioning
to prevent heatstroke.

However, there are concerns
of possible power shortages in the region serviced by
the Tokyo Electric Power Company.

Use your air conditioner more effectively with these four steps
to minimize power usage.

First, use an electric fan
along with your air conditioner.

Second, close your curtains to prevent
the sun's heat from entering your room.

Third, clean your air conditioner filters
about once every two weeks.

Fourth, do not place objects on or around
the outdoor unit of your air conditioner.

So record heat is straining Japan's power supply, and there are mounting concerns of power shortages.

Our news story provides steps we can take to save electricity while keeping cool.

In Japanese, we call these "taisaku."

So yeah, I feel "taisaku" is kind of a difficult word to understand for people who are just starting to learn Japanese.

"Taisaku" actually refers to steps or measures we take to prevent a bad situation, like heatstroke or power shortages.

It's a word we hear often these days.

For example, "shingata-korona-kansenshoo-taisaku," which means "anti-coronavirus measures."

That includes everything from wearing face masks to the government securing hospital beds for patients who become seriously ill.

Right, so whenever you see the word "taisaku," you have to be careful about the word that's before it, 'cause it will tell you what threat or danger they're trying to avoid.

Right, exactly.

Now, let's review some sentences from the story.

Here are four ways to save electricity and use your air conditioner efficiently.

Now, read along with me.

"eakon o umaku tsukau tame ni
dekiru dake tsukau denki o sukunaku-suru hoohoo o
yottsu shookai shimasu."

Ah "dekiru dake." Now that's kind of a tricky word.

Because it's quite vague, it's not always clear what is being asked of you.

Right, I know what you mean.

So let's ask Tokunaga-sensei to break it down for us.

As Chiara says, "dekiru dake" is a tricky phrase.

It means "as much as one can."

A similar expression is "dekiru kagiri."

This means "as much as possible," and refers to giving maximum effort.

So compared to
"dekiru dake shite kudasai," "dekiru kagiri shite kudasai"
is more insistent.

Another similar expression
is "narubeku."

This means "if possible" or
"if circumstances allow," and can be considered ambiguous.

So exercise caution when
speaking to a superior.

If a superior asks you
"Isoide dekimasu ka?"

instead of saying
"narubeku isogimasu," say "dekiru dake isogimasu"
or "dekiru kagiri isogimasu."

That will express your sincerity.

All right, let's move on to the following sentence.

Use an electric fan along with your air conditioner.

Now, read along with me.

"eakon to issho ni senpuuki o
tsukau koto desu."

Now, this is one of four steps the news story suggests for reducing your air conditioner's power consumption while still staying cool.

Chiara, what do you think?

Yes, the story also then mentions keeping cool by keeping the curtains closed so that the sun doesn't get in.

Now, at home I go one step further.

I have what's called a "guriin kaaten."

Yeah, so I have plants growing outside of my window that provide extra shade.

That's great.

And then on particularly hot days, I also do "uchimizu," which is sprinkling water on the terrace and the pavement outside of my house to get a more cooling effect.

Right, it cools the surface of the ground through evaporation.

Inside Japan.

Tokyo is sizzling under an intense heatwave.

How are international residents holding up?

The humidity is high,
the temperature is high...

It's super hot.

It's so hot and humid.
I'm constantly sweating.

The mugginess can be tough.

In Jordan, temperatures top 40℃.

But in Japan, it's 35℃ and muggy,
which is brutal.

How are Japanese residents beating the heat?

I have a parasol and a portable fan.

I use both together.

It's very effective.

I carry water with me
so I can stay hydrated.

This is my bottle.
It's very handy.

I'm constantly hydrating.

I also bring my water bottle with me wherever I go.

Me too, it's really important to stay hydrated.

Right, exactly.

Experts point out that sometimes we can be on the verge of dehydration without even knowing it.

They call this "kakure-dassui," literally "hidden" or "latent" dehydration.

In order to prevent dehydration, they recommend drinking one cup of water every hour while you're awake.

Also, they suggest applying a cold towel or other cool object to the palms, the soles of the feet, or the areas around the neck.

Those parts of the body contain blood vessels that help regulate body temperature.

So it's an effective way to cool down.

So now, let's take a look at some ingenious summer accessories to help you stay cool.

This popular discount store in Shibuya is known for its wide range of products.

A cooling tube that's worn around the neck.

Portable electric fans of different shapes and sizes.

In the summer, it sets up a whole section dedicated to the latest accessories for beating the heat.

Our handheld fans are always popular.

But this year, one item
has been particularly popular.

This hands-free neck fan.

This wearable item is just one of the many new cooling products hitting the Japanese market.

So we've lined up some cooling products here in the studio.

Chiara, what do you think?

Well, I've seen a lot of these around town these days, but my personal favorite is this cloth that you can put water on and you just sort of whip it through the air a little bit and it becomes cool.

But, I'm intrigued by that.

That vest looks really cool.

How does that work?

Once you press this button here...

you start getting a cool breeze from the vest.

So there are two fans on the back.

So that's how it works.

And I feel really cool now.

Well, yeah.

But definitely, as the weather continues to be so hot these days, things like this to keep cool are becoming very important.

Definitely.

That's all for today.

We'll see you next time.

See you soon!