Studies on Bioclimate and Weather-Health Forecasting in Japan

In order to review the present status of bioclimate research and weather-health forecasting in Japan, development is first described briefly for the periods of the first and second halves of the 20th Century. Important topics for further development are demonstrated to be: temperature change; lifestyle changes; historical approaches used such as weather-related proverbs, old documents, etc.; and analysis of health (disease)-weather relationships. In the second part of this review, activities of the “BioClima Research Committee (BCRC)” are mentioned. The BCRC, established in 2000, has been organizing meetings and symposiums and has published several monographs or books on bioclimate. In the third part, background information used in health-weather forecasting is reviewed. Awareness of various relationships between health and weather and data pertaining to them, and their usefulness in forecasting is introduced, referring to the results of a questionnaire survey among general citizens. As a practical problem, it discusses “Expression Codes” for broadcasting information on forecasts. Also, the regional division of bioclimatic conditions in Japan is mentioned in order to consider the size of the areas covered by forecasts. For reference, information propagation by news papers is mentioned, too. In the last part, examples of influenza, myocardial infarction and heat disorder are mentioned based on the results obtained. It is concluded that such approaches to forecasting should be developed further in all countries under international cooperation.