
Tokyo gov't to waive base water fees this summer
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has announced plans to temporarily waive base water fees starting in June or July of this year. The waiver is proposed to last four months.
The idea behind the initiative is that if you're saving money on your water bill, it may encourage you to spend it on other utilities like AC to keep cool. The unprecedented decision is in response to last year's intense summer heat and aims to reduce the amount of heatstroke-related incidents.
Don't let the taps run free though, as the waiver only covers base costs. Those are estimated to be between ¥860 and ¥1,460 per month depending on the size of your water pipes – anything beyond base fees will still be your responsibility to pay.
The exact amount to be covered is yet to be announced, but it's estimated that most Tokyoites can save up to ¥5,000 during the four-month period.

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Time Out
22-05-2025
- Time Out
Tokyo gov't to waive base water fees this summer
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has announced plans to temporarily waive base water fees starting in June or July of this year. The waiver is proposed to last four months. The idea behind the initiative is that if you're saving money on your water bill, it may encourage you to spend it on other utilities like AC to keep cool. The unprecedented decision is in response to last year's intense summer heat and aims to reduce the amount of heatstroke-related incidents. Don't let the taps run free though, as the waiver only covers base costs. Those are estimated to be between ¥860 and ¥1,460 per month depending on the size of your water pipes – anything beyond base fees will still be your responsibility to pay. The exact amount to be covered is yet to be announced, but it's estimated that most Tokyoites can save up to ¥5,000 during the four-month period.


BBC News
21-05-2025
- BBC News
Tokyo to waive water fees this summer to combat extreme heat
Basic water utility fees will be waived for residents of Tokyo this summer in an effort to limit the impact of extreme heat, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has than ¥36bn ($250m; £186m) has been set aside for the subsidies, which will come into effect for a four-month period."We would like to create an environment in which all Tokyoites can live in peace even in the extremely hot weather we are expected to experience this summer," Tokyo Governor Yuriko Joike claimed 263 lives in Tokyo last summer, according to the Bureau of Public Health. Many victims did not have air conditioning or chose not to use it because of high costs. "Due to anxieties over living (costs), there may be cases in which people don't use their air conditioners during a heat wave even though they own one," Koike added.#By offsetting water costs, the government aims to encourage residents of the Japanese capital to use other cooling methods like air more than 60% of heatstroke deaths recorded indoors last summer, the victims had not turned air conditioning on, the Tokyo Fire Department said, according to the Japan average, base water fees in Tokyo cost between ¥860 ($6; £4.50) to ¥1,460 ($10; £7.50) per month, depending on the width of the household's water fees - based on water usage and paid on top of base fees - will be charged at their usual has more than 7 million households and a population of more than 14 million, according to government recorded its hottest summer on record last year. Temperatures in June, July and August were 1.76 degrees higher than the average between 1991 and 2020, according to the Japan meteorological June and September, nearly 8,000 people in Tokyo were taken to hospitals for heatstroke - also a record - with a majority of deaths recorded among elderly people.


The Independent
27-02-2025
- The Independent
Japan's birth rate plummets to lowest in 125 years
The number of babies born in Japan has dropped to the lowest the country has ever seen since records began 125 years ago, falling ninth straight year despite the government's efforts to reverse the decline. Japan recorded 720,988 births in 2024, five per cent down from the previous year, the health ministry said on Thursday. The year-on-year decline underscores Japan's long-standing issues of a rapidly ageing and shrinking population, which has serious fallout for the country's economy and national security. The country saw a record of 1.6 million deaths last year, causing the population to shrink by almost 900,000 people, including those who immigrated out of Japan. It means that two people died for every new baby born. Japan's demographics have alarmed policymakers and researchers as it is also the fastest ageing country with nearly 30 per cent of population already over 65. Experts blamed fewer marriages in recent years due to the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic and the decline is set to continue despite improving the marriage rate. Takumi Fujinami, an economist at the Japan Research Institute, told Reuters: "The impact could linger on in 2025 as well'. The number of marriages edged up 2.2 per cent to 499,999 in 2024, which came only after steep declines, such as a plunge of 12.7 per cent in 2020. The former prime minister Fumio Kishida 's government used measures to boost child-bearing, including expanding childcare facilities, offering housing subsidies, and even launching a government-run dating app to encourage marriage and childbearing. In more drastic measures the government agencies launched an experimental four-day work week for employees of Tokyo Metropolitan Government, one of the country's largest employers. Mr Kishida last year said it was a 'now or never situation'. 'Japan is standing on the verge of whether we can continue to function as a society,' he had said. 'Focusing attention on policies regarding children and child-rearing is an issue that cannot wait and cannot be postponed. Japan's data is in contrast to South Korea's development of rising fertility rate for the first time in nine years on Wednesday. It was the glimmer of hope for the country which has the world's lowest birth rate. Experts believe South Korea's positive turn resulted from government support in the three areas of work-family balance, childcare and housing, as well as a campaign for businesses to nudge employees towards parenthood.