00:00We've gradually become nocturnal. It's about protecting our bodies and ultimately our lives.
00:07The sun has long set over this greenhouse north of Tokyo, but work is still underway inside.
00:13Under the glow of lights, flower farmer Motoaki Ijima carefully inspects his crop.
00:19He works at night to escape the daytime heat, which has grown increasingly deadly over the years.
00:26Three years ago, a part-time worker suffered heat stroke while picking sunflowers in his greenhouse.
00:32A moment that changed everything for Ijima.
00:37We were concerned about our workers' physical safety and even their lives, since temperatures are rising every year.
00:43So we decided to switch to harvesting and doing other tasks at night.
00:48Japan is particularly vulnerable among advanced economies.
00:51Around 70 percent of its farmers are aged 65 or older, making them especially susceptible to heat stress.
00:59The country's high humidity adds to the danger.
01:0568-year-old Miyoko Asada, a worker on Ijima's farm, says getting up early for work is a struggle,
01:12but it's a small price to pay to avoid the heat.
01:18For nearby poultry farmer Tetsuya Usuba, the challenge is keeping his birds alive.
01:24Six summers ago, he lost more than 500 laying hens to heat stroke during a three-day spell of intense
01:31heat.
01:32Now he, too, is turning nocturnal.
01:36Around here, there are many days when the maximum temperature goes over 95 Fahrenheit.
01:41Chickens don't tend to eat when it's hot, and it's very hard to make them eat at times when they're
01:46not doing it by themselves.
01:48So what we're doing is we wake the chickens up when it's cooler during the night and getting them to
01:53eat then.
01:55Usuba says it's becoming harder to do his job with every passing year.
01:59It's a sentiment many Japanese farmers are likely to share.
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