World Cosplay Summit moves to November over Japan heat

The World Cosplay Summit in Nagoya will move its three-day event to November from next year because of summer heat, after participants at this year's parade faced conditions ahead of a 40C forecast for Sunday's final day.

The annual Japan event draws upwards of 250,000 people from around the world to dress as manga, animation and video game characters.

Tokumaru Oguri, chief executive of the World Cosplay Summit, said Japan has been getting warmer since around the end of the COVID pandemic and that heat can put people's lives at risk. He urged attendees to be in good physical condition, sleep enough and stay hydrated.

Some cosplayers said the heat affected what they wore. Orena, a French competitor dressed as Haku from “Spirited Away,” said she chose linen and cotton because layered costumes, wigs and makeup become difficult in high temperatures.

Scientists say human-induced climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme heat events in Japan and elsewhere. Japan had its hottest summer on record last year, and recent “kokushobi,” or “cruelly hot days,” have sent thousands of people, many of them elderly, to hospital.