The mid-day sun bakes pedestrians during the summer solstice as the mercury rises to mark the hottest day so far this year in Tokyo and its immediate vicinity on Wednesday, June 22, 2011. For the first time this year, the mid-day temperature reached 30 degrees Celsius, marking the beginning of hot summer for the country that may suffer a severe power shortage in the wake of the nuclear crisis at the stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. (Photo by Yusuke Nakanishi/AFLO)