Fiji rugby player dies in Japan of suspected heatstroke as high of 35C hit

What the report says

A Fijian rugby player, Saimoni Vunilagi, has died in Japan after being hospitalised with heatstroke-like symptoms following a team training session, according to his club, Kyushu KV. Al Jazeera, citing AFP and the club’s statement, reported that the 26-year-old was taken to a hospital in Fukuoka, in southern Japan, after practice on Monday and died on Friday morning. The second-division team said he had shown signs consistent with severe heatstroke.

The report said Monday’s temperature in Fukuoka reached 35C (95F), underscoring the conditions surrounding the incident. Vunilagi, a back-row forward, had studied in Japan and started his professional rugby career in 2023. His club said players and staff were devastated by the news and offered condolences to his family.

The death comes amid renewed concern over extreme heat in Japan, where recent summers have set records and officials have repeatedly warned about heat-related illness. Al Jazeera noted that Japan has recorded thousands of heatstroke hospitalisations in a single week this year, and that authorities have been adjusting schedules for outdoor events in response to rising temperatures. More broadly, climate scientists say hotter, more frequent extreme-weather events are becoming more common as the climate warms, although that wider trend was presented by the publisher as background rather than a direct cause of this case.