Central Tokyo has experienced 35 consecutive days of rainfall, setting the longest continuous rainy streak since records began in 1886, reported local media citing Japan’s weather agency.
Rains began on Aug. 27 and have continued daily as of Sept. 30. This spell breaks the previous record of 33 consecutive days of rainfall set in 2019, from June 27-July 29, according to Tokyo-based news site Japan Today. Tokyo typically sees its rainiest period in June-July.
The nonstop rains in September are due to a combination of a stationary autumn rain front (known locally as akisame-zensen), intensified by approaching typhoons, including Typhoon Dujuan and low-pressure troughs. Rainfall in central Tokyo in September reached 629 millimeters (24.8 inches) by Sept. 28 — nearly three times the typical monthly average and approaching the September record of 670.9 mm (26.4 in) set in 1958, according to local media. Another typhoon is expected to affect Tokyo by Oct. 1.
Meteorological officials attribute the abnormal weather pattern in part to global climate drivers, including El Niño, the warming of surface ocean temperatures in the tropical Pacific. Masayuki Kyoda, an official at the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), told AFP that “the distinctive weather map during this month is in part because of El Niño.”
“Autumn rain fronts are staying longer than usual,” Kyoda said, because an associated Pacific high-pressure system has remained prolonged over the region.
While he noted that it’s difficult to attribute a single event directly to climate change, a JMA report, “Climate Change in Japan 2025,” concluded that global warming is impacting Japan’s weather in the long term through increased precipitation.
Weather officials have called on farmers to “take special care with crops” as monthly rainfall exceeded three times average levels in parts of the southern Kanto region, according to NHK World-Japan. The unrelenting rains have also left hillsides unstable and damaged river levees in neighboring Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures, prompting officials to warn that even minor rain could trigger severe disasters. The hazard is further compounded by severe tropical storm Surigae moving off the coast.
Officials are advising residents to stay on “high alert for high waves, strong winds, and landslides.”
Banner image of pedestrians crossing an intersection in Shibuya, Tokyo, taken from Hachikō Square. The central part of the world’s second-largest city has experienced record-breaking rainfall. Image courtesy of Benh LIEU SONG via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0).
