Japan's 'Human Fridge' Cools Outdoor Workers as Extreme Heat Worsens

Feeling dizzy after cycling to work in Japan's punishing summer heat, warehouse worker Isao Tabuchi, 51, headed for his company's newest acquisition: a phone-booth-sized machine called the "Do Hiemon Box" that blasts jets of chilled air to cool a person to about 5°C (41°F). "I was really able to recover thanks to that. Once you use it, it's very, very cool," he said in the industrial city of Higashiosaka.

Tokyo-based industrial equipment distributor Trusco Nakayama has sold more than 300 units of the machine since April, priced at 1.5 million yen (about $9,400), to construction sites, factories and warehouses, with plans to expand to golf courses and possibly baseball stadiums. The unit runs off a regular power socket, can be wheeled around, and automatically shuts off after 20 minutes to prevent overuse.

Japan recorded its hottest summer on record in 2025, and this year the weather office began using the term "kokushobi," or "cruelly hot day," when temperatures hit 40°C (104°F), urging the public to treat extreme heat like a natural disaster. Tokyo alone recorded almost 120 heat-related deaths in the month through mid-August, and close to 63,000 people nationwide needed emergency care this summer. A July survey found that half of companies said intense heat had disrupted their operations, and almost 88% said they had increased efforts to help workers cope.

Since last year, Japanese businesses have faced tougher legal requirements to protect outdoor workers, including providing fan-cooled jackets, air-conditioned break rooms and shade canopies at building sites. "I was really surprised by this new concept of putting people into a kind of refrigerator," said Yutaka Kono of Konoe, the equipment wholesaler where Tabuchi works, adding that a person's body can be cooled to a safe temperature almost instantly inside the unit. Worker Taichi Konishi, 24, said he uses it about three times a day: "I've only been in for about two minutes, but even that was enough for all my sweat to dry up."