People walk with umbrellas in the rain along the Ginza shopping district in Tokyo on Sept. 29, 2026. [EPA]
People walk with umbrellas in the rain along the Ginza shopping district in Tokyo on Sept. 29, 2026. [EPA]

Tokyo recorded rainfall every single day in September, an unprecedented occurrence in the city's meteorological record. The streak of consecutive rainy days, which began in late August, stretched to 35 days — the longest ever observed.

Rain fell on Tokyo on Wednesday, completing a run of measurable precipitation on every day from Sept. 1 through Sept. 30, according to the Japan Weather Association.

It marked the first time in recorded history that Tokyo registered rainfall across an entire September. The 35-day consecutive streak surpassed the previous record of 33 days, set from June 27 to July 29, 2019.

Meteorologists attributed the prolonged wet spell to an autumn rain front that stalled near the Japanese mainland, compounded by a succession of approaching typhoons. The relentless cloud cover also sharply reduced sunshine hours: as of Tuesday, Tokyo had logged just 45.8 hours of sunshine in September, roughly 40 percent of the seasonal average.

The weeks of rain took a toll on daily life across the city.

Laundromats were packed even on weekday afternoons as residents struggled to dry their clothes, according to TV Asahi. At one facility, all 14 dryers ran at full capacity, and sales for the month were about 1.5 times higher than the same period last year. "I've been coming almost every day," one customer said. "There's no way to dry laundry outside."

A building exterior painting company in Asunkoushi, Chiba Prefecture, also saw its work repeatedly disrupted. Paint applied to outer walls ran off within minutes of application, forcing the crew to keep pushing back its schedule. "We're constantly checking the forecast before we work," a company official said. "It's really tough. We just can't get anything done."

However, conditions are expected to gradually improve in October. The Japan Weather Association said Typhoon No. 26 could bring rain to parts of Chiba Prefecture and some other areas on Thursday, but skies should clear across most of the country after that.

The first weekend of October — Saturday and Sunday — is forecast to be mostly sunny. However, cloudy skies and rain are expected to return to Tokyo and surrounding areas from Monday onward.


bbo@heraldcorp.com