Typhoon Dujuan Skirts Japan, Triggers Deadly Landslides

Is Japan's record rainfall proof of a climate crisis demanding adaptation or do typhoon records expose alarmism?
Typhoon Dujuan Skirts Japan, Triggers Deadly Landslides
Above: Flooding inundates a park as heavy rain falls due to Typhoon Dujuan in Ichikawa, Chiba, on Sept. 21. Image credit: JIJI Press/AFP/Getty Images

The Spin


Climate-concerned narrative

Climate change is no conspiracy theory, and Japan's weather proves it. Record-shattering rainfall of 367 mm in 24 hours, sewers backing up, and level 4 danger alerts show that the old faith in flood-proof cities no longer holds, while extreme downpours have grown roughly 1.5 to 1.8 times more frequent over the past four decades. The only responsible choice is to adapt to this more extreme era and take steps to stop it getting any worse.

Climate-skeptic narrative

Blaming every violent storm on warming ignores what typhoon records actually show. Counts of storms forming, approaching and striking Japan peaked between 1951 and 1970 and have declined since 2001; there is no meaningful change in average minimum pressure, no rise in super typhoons and no lengthening of the season.


Metaculus Prediction


The Controversies



Go Deeper

© 2026 Improve the News Foundation. All rights reserved.Version 7.16.0

© 2026 Improve the News Foundation.

All rights reserved.

Version 7.16.0