2 women die in heat wave in Kobe, western Japan

Local rescuers found on Tuesday the bodies of two sisters living together in a house in the western Japanese city of Kobe, and local police believe they died after suffering from heatstroke in hot weather. The rescuers found the body of a 53-year-old woman at the entrance of the house and that of a 56-year-old woman at a bedroom on the second floor, according to Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK), Japan' s public broadcaster. The report cited local police officers as saying that since there is no obvious external damage to the bodies, both sisters, also living without air conditioning, died of heatstroke, adding that the 56-year-old woman, dead lying on her back, had died several days ago in the room whose windows were shut. The Japan Meteorological Agency said that temperatures in many places in western Japan have reached over 35 degrees Celsius since early Tuesday afternoon. For example, the observation point in Shimanto City, Kochi Prefecture, which hit a record high of 41 degrees on Monday, the highest ever recorded in Japan, has seen the mercury touch 40 degrees for the fourth straight day. Other places in Wakayama and Nara prefectures witnessed temperatures of over 38 degrees. The meteorological agency noted that the current spate of very hot weather across the region will continue at least until the end of the week.