August 23, 2026

Akahata ‘current’ column (excerpts)

Amidst the sweltering summer heat, victims of the July 28 Kumamoto earthquake are enduring harsh living conditions in evacuation centers that are poorly equipped for summer disasters. Some evacuees are sleeping in their cars or elsewhere, rather than in the shelters.

Public elementary and junior high school gymnasiums are usually designated as evacuation centers. However, in Kumamoto, only 20% have air conditioning. Nationwide, the installation rate of ACs in school gyms is around 30%.

In Tokyo’s Setagaya Ward, the Japanese Communist Party Ward Assemblymembers’ group has urged the ward government to install power-independent gas heat pump (GHP) air conditioners, which can operate even during power outages, in all school gyms. So far, these units have been installed in the gymnasiums or martial arts halls of 39 out of the 90 municipal elementary and junior high schools.

Against the backdrop of tenacious efforts made by the JCP assemblymembers’ group, the number of elementary and junior high school gyms equipped with power outage-capable GHP ACs is expected to reach 84 in 2028.

Along with the case in Setagaya, another local government installed ten home air conditioners in an elementary school gym as a field trial. For residential air conditioners, it is possible to use solar power generation in conjunction with a battery storage system which helps achieve both power outage preparedness and decarbonization.

Experts point out that since efforts to deploy air conditioning systems in school gyms differ depending on local governments, the national government should take responsibility and allocate the necessary budget. To protect the lives of disaster victims, installing air conditioning in school gyms is an urgent priority for the national government.