The mercury exceeded 35 degrees Celsius in central Tokyo on Wednesday, making September 18 the latest such "extremely hot day" in a calendar year since the statistics began in 1875, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).

An observation center in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward logged 35.1 degrees Celsius shortly past 11:55 a.m. local time (0255 GMT), constituting an "extremely hot day" where the temperature rises above 35 degrees Celsius, JMA said.

The previous record for the latest "extremely hot day" in central Tokyo was September 12, set in 1942.

On Wednesday, the central city of Nagoya also rewrote its similar record after observing 36.4 degrees Celsius shortly past 1:10 p.m. local time (0410 GMT), JMA added.