22 dead, 14 injured as heat wave continues in Japan+

TOKYO, July 25 Kyodo - Twenty-two people died and 14 others were injured in Japan on Sunday as a result of water and mountain accidents as well as heat stroke as temperatures continued to soar across the country, according to reports compiled by Kyodo
News.

Fourteen people died in water-related accidents -- two each in Chiba, Aomori,
Gifu and Shizuoka prefectures and one each in Yamaguchi, Hokkaido, Kanagawa,
Nara, Wakayama and Kagawa prefectures -- while two people died in the mountains
in Saitama Prefecture.
Three people in Saitama Prefecture and one each in Chiba, Nara and Hyogo
prefectures died of heat stroke or suspected heat stroke, local authorities
said.
Among the injured, six were involved in water-related accidents and eight were
involved in incidents in the mountains, including a 39-year-old man who was
attacked by a bear in Yamanashi Prefecture.
The heat wave continued in extensive parts of Japan, with the mercury hitting
35 C or higher at more than 90 of the approximately 920 observation points
across the country, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
The mercury rose as high as 38.1 C in Tajimi, Gifu Prefecture, followed by 37.9
C in the Sakuma area of Shizuoka Prefecture and Okayama. The highest
temperatures on record for July were logged in Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture, at
37.7 C and Kyotanabe, Kyoto Prefecture at 37.3 C.
Meanwhile, some areas experienced thunder showers due to atmospheric
instability caused by sinking cold air, including in Ishioka, Ibaraki
Prefecture, where a record 86.5 millimeters of rain fell in the space of one
hour in the evening, according to the agency.
==Kyodo