Japan launches Do Hiemon Box, walk‑in human cooling booth

Japan's refrigeration firm SDRS and industrial supplier Trusco Nakayama have introduced the Do Hiemon Box, a walk‑in cooling booth for a single person. The stainless‑steel chamber is kept at roughly 15 °C while a directed stream of air at about 5 °C is blown onto the user’s head, neck, shoulders and back. The manufacturer claims users feel noticeably cooler after five minutes, and ten minutes inside can alleviate early symptoms of heat exhaustion. The unit automatically shuts off after 20 minutes to prevent over‑cooling and consumes about half the energy of a comparable portable air‑conditioner. Priced at 1.5 million yen (≈ USD 8 500), the portable box on wheels is intended for construction sites, factories, warehouses, outdoor events and other workplaces facing Japan’s extreme summer heatwaves, where temperatures have reached 38 °C and heat‑stroke warnings are in force.