Japan's All-Time Record High Broken as Kumagaya Hits 106 Degrees

Amid a deadly heat wave that gripped several Asian countries, Japan recorded its highest temperature Monday since records began.

The mercury soared to 106 degrees in Kumagaya, a city in Saitama prefecture located some 40 miles northwest of Tokyo, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. The reading broke the previous record of 105.8 degrees, set Aug. 12, 2013 in the town of Ekawasaki, located on Shikoku Island.

Records have been falling across the nation for nearly two weeks as high pressure has remained locked into the region, keeping the heat in place. The heat wave has killed at least 40 people in Japan, and 10 more deaths have been reported in South Korea.

"It is so hot these days that I cannot figure out whether I am in (South Korea) or in Southeast Asia," said Kim Sung-hee, a student in downtown Seoul, where the temperature rose to 96 degrees.

(MORE: Where the Heat Wave Will Continue in the U.S.)

Ten people have died in South Korea of heatstroke and other heat-related causes this summer, seven of them last week, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday. About 1,040 people have fallen ill because of hot weather from May 20 to July 21, an increase of 61 percent over the same period last year, it said.

South Korea's highest-ever morning low was recorded in the city of Gangneung, where the temperature was 88 degrees at 6:45 a.m. The morning low in Seoul was 84.6 degrees, a record for the country's capital, according to South Korea's weather agency.

The mercury hit 103.8 degrees in the southeastern town of Hayang, the highest temperature in the country so far this year.

In North Korea, residents fanned themselves on crowded trolleys or protected themselves from the sun with brightly colored parasols as temperatures in Pyongyang, the capital, reached 93.2 degrees. Weather reports said even higher temperatures were recorded on the country's eastern coast.

Thousands of people in Japan have been rushed to hospitals with heat stroke symptoms during the heat wave. Kyodo News agency has tallied more than 40 deaths. Many of the victims have been elderly people who were not using air conditioning.

On Monday, nine people died from heat-related causes across Japan, Kyodo said. NHK national television tallied seven deaths.

The temperature reached 102 degrees on Monday in central Tokyo, the highest temperature this year. The worst of the heat wave is expected to be over this week.

Tourists in Tokyo's historic Asakusa district struggled with the heat. Cosett Romero from Mexico said she and her family were getting headaches.

"It's difficult to us because we don't have this heat in Mexico," she said.

Authorities warned people to stay inside and use air conditioning.

"The weather recently in Tokyo and across Japan is like being in a sauna," Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike said at a news conference that highlighted the 2020 Summer Olympics, which open in Tokyo two years from Tuesday.

She said that the city has been working to address heat concerns for both fans and athletes.

The marathon and some other outdoor Olympic events will start early in the morning. Other steps include developing road pavements that emit less surface heat, setting up mist sprays and planting tall roadside trees.

Koike also cited traditional ways of cooling in Japan, such as hanging straw screens and spraying water on road surfaces.

"But our traditional wisdom is not enough to beat the heat like this," she acknowledged, "so we will be using cutting-edge technology."