Yoroku: The anime ‘Weathering with You’ and climate-based health ailments

Director Makoto Shinkai’s animated film “Weathering with You” features the relationship between weather and people’s feelings as one of its motifs. A girl who has a special ability to bring sunny weather when she prays starts a “sunshine girl business” with a boy who has run away from home, and the two are entrusted with people’s wishes for blue skies on special days when various events are held.

The daily weather affects not only our emotions but also our physical condition and health. Discomforts such as headaches and fatigue caused by weather conditions are collectively known as weather-related illnesses. Research into this field is ongoing, but such ailments are believed to be caused by disruptions to the autonomic nervous system due to changes in atmospheric pressure and other factors. In a 2022 survey by pharmaceutical company Daiichi Sankyo Healthcare Co., about 65% of people reported experiencing discomfort due to weather changes.

The rainy season, which is marked by severe changes in atmospheric pressure, is a period requiring particular caution. Tsukasa Kudeken, 51, who has been providing outpatient care for weather-related illnesses at a clinic in Tokyo’s Setagaya Ward since 2016, says, “Perhaps due to the unstable weather, more people have come for consultations since April this year. I get the impression that the number is increasing each year.”

People who can predict weather changes based on their physical condition are also highly likely to be affected by weather-related illnesses, Kudeken says. He says self-care measures such as ear massages and maintaining a regular lifestyle can help.

To understand if weather conditions affect one’s body, keeping a diary can also be an effective way to help people realize factors that contribute to poor physical condition.

Last week, the Japanese archipelago experienced both rainy skies and scorching heat. While we may not have the power to change the weather, we should manage our health through the summer while paying attention to our bodies’ signals.

(“Yoroku” is a front-page column in the Mainichi Shimbun.)