Heating Room by Room, Refueling Kerosene Yourself: Winter in Japan Without Central Heating

In many Ukrainian cities, heat produced at boiler plants and combined heat and power plants reaches apartment buildings as hot water, and heating is switched on in autumn by decision of the local authority. After you start living in Japan, you notice that most homes have no such system. You put an air conditioner or a heater in a room, switch it on yourself, and, with a kerosene heater, put in the kerosene (灯油) yourself too.

This article summarizes how homes are heated in a Japanese winter, the accidents that tend to happen with heating (putting the wrong fuel into a kerosene heater, fires during refueling, carbon monoxide poisoning, accidents in the bathroom), condensation, and the energy-efficiency standard required of newly built housing since April 2025, based on the laws as of October 2026 and materials published by the National Institute of Technology and Evaluation (NITE), the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, the Tokyo Fire Department, the Consumer Affairs Agency, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, and the Japan Meteorological Agency. We do not recommend any particular product, manufacturer, or shop.

Countries With Central Heating, and Countries That Heat Room by Room

Japan also has systems in which hot or chilled water made in one place is sent through pipes to several buildings. This is the “heat supply business” (熱供給事業) under the Heat Supply Business Act, and the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy’s list of registered heat supply operators (as of October 1, 2025) includes 76 operators. Many of the supply areas are named after city centers or redevelopment districts, such as Marunouchi and Shinjuku Shintoshin in Tokyo and Senri Chuo in Osaka. Some areas carry the name of a housing complex, such as Atsubetsu and Makomanai in Sapporo, the Nisshin housing complex in Tomakomai, and the Hikarigaoka and Shinagawa Yashio housing complexes in Tokyo.

A document from a Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry advisory council (2014) said that heat supply sites are concentrated in areas with high demand for heat, such as Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya, and that the supply districts cover 0.01% of the country’s land area. In homes outside such areas, heating is either an appliance placed in each room or equipment built into the building, such as an air conditioner or floor heating, and the residents operate it each time.

District Heat Supply and District Heating and Cooling: Two Names for the Same System

The legal term is “heat supply business.” The industry body, the Japan District Heating and Cooling Association (一般社団法人日本熱供給事業協会), calls the same system both “district heat supply” and “district heating and cooling.” According to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s document, heat supply in Japan makes and sends not only hot water for heating and hot water supply but also chilled water for cooling. The heat energy supply service defined by Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 830 covers heat for heating and hot water supply (item 4), and chilled water for cooling does not appear in it. What is sent is therefore somewhat different in scope from “district heating and cooling.”

Central Heating in Ukraine and Room-by-Room Heating in Japan

	Ukraine (apartment buildings with central heating)	Japan (homes without central heating)
Where the heat is made	Boiler plants and combined heat and power plants. Hot water is sent to buildings through pipes	Appliances in the room (air conditioners, heaters, and so on) or equipment built into the building
When heating starts	A body of the local authority decides when the heating period begins and ends. When the average daily temperature is 8 degrees or lower for 3 days, it starts at that point at the latest	Residents operate the appliances themselves
Supply during the period	During the heating period, heat is sent “without interruption,” apart from interruptions provided for by law	Run only for the hours you use it
What you pay	A heat charge (set by the local authority body or the regulatory commission)	Electricity and gas charges, and the cost of kerosene, each paid separately
Average January temperature	Minus 2 to minus 7.5 degrees across most of the country (a paper cited in our existing article)	Sapporo minus 3.2 degrees, Sendai 2.0, Tokyo 5.4, Osaka 6.2, Fukuoka 6.9, Naha 17.3

The rules and charges for heating in Ukraine are summarized in our article on the rules for when heating starts in Ukraine. The average January temperature in Japan is about the same in Sapporo as in many parts of Ukraine, but in Tokyo and Osaka it is more than 7 degrees higher, so regional differences are large.

Main Heating Appliances and the Fuels They Use

The “main heating appliances” that NITE counts in its accident statistics are kerosene stoves and kerosene fan heaters, electric heaters and electric fan heaters, gas stoves and gas fan heaters, oil-filled radiators, electric carpets, and electric kotatsu. Besides these, there are air-conditioner heating and floor heating.

• Air conditioner: electricity. Some models can both cool and heat.
• Kerosene stove and kerosene fan heater: kerosene. You fill the tank yourself, and the air from burning goes out into the room.
• Gas stove and gas fan heater: city gas or LP gas. You cannot use one unless the appliance matches the type of gas in your home.
• Electric heater, electric fan heater, and oil-filled radiator: electricity. Electric heaters also include halogen heaters and panel heaters (NITE’s classification).
• Kotatsu and electric carpet: electricity. They warm the area near the body, not the whole room.
• Floor heating: equipment built into the building; whether it is there depends on the home.

Where to apply for electricity and gas, and the danger of using an appliance that does not match the type of gas (city gas versus LP gas), are covered in our article on contacts for electricity, gas, and water. Which appliance to choose and which company to contract with are not covered in this article.

Before Using a Kerosene Heater in a Rental Home

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism’s model tenancy agreement, the “Standard Residential Lease Agreement” (賃貸住宅標準契約書; March 2018 edition), lists in Appendix 1 the acts a tenant must not commit. Item 1 reads as follows.

Item 1: Manufacturing or storing firearms, swords, or explosive, flammable, or other dangerous articles.

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, “Standard Residential Lease Agreement,” March 2018 edition, Appendix 1 (translated from the Japanese; no official English text was confirmed)

The words kerosene heater and kerosene do not appear in this appendix. However, the standard agreement is not something the law requires you to use, and the notes in the same document say that Appendix 1 (except items 6 to 8) can be changed, added to, or deleted according to individual circumstances. What the actual contract, or the apartment building’s management rules and detailed rules of use, say differs from home to home. This article cannot judge whether you may use a kerosene heater in the home you rent. Read the contract, and if you are unsure, ask the landlord or the management company. The process of renting a home is covered in our article on renting a home in Japan.

Kerosene Stoves and Fan Heaters: Refueling and Handling Kerosene

In its alert of October 30, 2025, NITE lists the following checks for kerosene heating appliances.

• Remove any dust that has built up (it makes the fuel burn poorly, and the dust can catch fire).
• Check that the automatic earthquake shut-off works correctly (follow the instruction manual for how to check).
• Use fresh kerosene as fuel, and do not use kerosene left over from the previous season. NITE says deteriorated kerosene may cause abnormal combustion and a large amount of carbon monoxide.
• Keep kerosene and gasoline in separate places and tell them apart, for example by labels, so that gasoline is not put in by mistake. Even a small amount mixed in may cause a fire.
• Check that the cap on the cartridge tank’s filler opening is firmly closed and that nothing leaks. Always turn off the fire before refueling.
• Keep the distance the instruction manual gives from walls, furniture, curtains, futons, and clothing. Do not dry laundry on the heater.

On containers for kerosene, NITE writes that you should use a dedicated container such as a kerosene polyethylene tank, and that gasoline should be kept in a metal portable can that complies with the Fire Service Act, stored in a separate place. For disposing of kerosene left over from the previous season, it advises consulting the shop where you bought it.

Heating Accidents in Numbers

Of the product accidents notified to NITE, there were 596 accidents involving main heating appliances in the five years from 2020 to 2024, and about 80% of them involved electric and kerosene heating appliances. Each year, about 80% or more were fires; they increase from around November, peak in December, and decline toward April. Accidents involving kerosene heating appliances numbered 263 over the five years, of which 258 were fires, and there were 45 fatal accidents (51 people died). Among accidents whose cause was determined, the most common were fires in which kerosene that leaked because the filler cap was left unclosed or the like caught fire (30 cases), fires caused by contact with combustible material or by radiant heat (20 cases), and accidents caused by putting gasoline in by mistake (19 cases). Accidents involving electric heating appliances numbered 208, with 18 fatal accidents (19 people).

What NITE’s Numbers and the Fire and Disaster Management Agency’s Numbers Count

According to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency’s “Overview of Fires in Reiwa 7 (January to December) (Approximate Figures)” (May 28, 2026), of 11,929 residential fires in 2025, 802 (6.7%) had a “stove” as the cause of ignition. Of the 1,414 people killed by fires, 117 (8.3%) died in fires whose source of ignition was a “stove.” The final figures for 2024 also show 812 residential fires (6.9%) caused by a “stove.”

NITE’s figures are “product accidents” collected through reports under the Consumer Product Safety Act and other means, and are counted separately by type of appliance. The Agency’s figures divide all fires investigated by the fire service by cause of ignition, and this document has no breakdown by the appliance’s fuel. The two differ in scope and period, so they cannot be added together or compared. The 2025 figures are approximate and may change.

Carbon Monoxide and Ventilation

The Tokyo Fire Department says that carbon monoxide is colorless and odorless and hard to notice, and that depending on the concentration it can be fatal. To prevent it, it lists: when using equipment or appliances that burn fuel, ventilate well by running the ventilation fan or opening a window regularly; if you notice anything unusual, however slight, stop using the appliance and ventilate; inspect and clean appliances regularly; and do not use outdoor appliances such as generators or barbecue stoves indoors. It also says that installing an alarm that detects carbon monoxide is effective for noticing it early.

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Accidents in Tokyo

According to the Tokyo Fire Department, in the five years from 2020 to 2024, 30 carbon monoxide poisoning accidents occurred in houses and apartment buildings within its jurisdiction (Tokyo excluding Inagi City and the island areas). By month, January had the most with 8, followed by December with 6. The causes were mostly things that use charcoal, such as shichirin, hibachi, and irori, along with cooking appliances and heating appliances, and about half or more of the people taken to hospital by ambulance were moderate or more serious cases requiring hospitalization. Among the example accidents is one in which a person who had been working for nearly two hours near a kerosene fan heater developed a headache.

In a fire, or if you suddenly feel unwell, call 119. How to call 119 and the interpreting system are covered in our article on emergency phone numbers. Turning off the kitchen and stove fires once an earthquake’s shaking stops is also written in the “Guidebook on Living and Working” (生活・就労ガイドブック) introduced in our article on preparing for earthquakes and typhoons.

Condensation and Mold

Water droplets forming on window glass, sashes, and the like in winter is called condensation (結露). The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism explains that in a home with better insulation, temperature differences across the house are smaller and room temperature is more stable, condensation and the growth of mold and dust mites are also suppressed, and the risk of allergic symptoms and infections can be expected to fall.

When condensation or mold appears, who pays for repairs and costs in a rented home depends on the contract and the condition of the home. If you are concerned, let the landlord or the management company know early.

Cold Bathrooms and Changing Rooms, and Accidents While Bathing

In a home heated room by room, whether to warm the bathroom and changing room is also up to the residents. As causes of drowning accidents in the bathtub in winter, the Consumer Affairs Agency lists sudden changes in blood pressure due to the temperature difference between a warm room and a cold changing room or bathroom, and loss of consciousness from a rise in body temperature caused by soaking in hot water for a long time. Government of Japan Online says that accidents while bathing become more frequent in the cold season from November to April.

Number of Accidents in the Bathtub

According to figures the Consumer Affairs Agency drew from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s vital statistics (2024), 7,776 people died in 2024 by drowning in a bathtub or after falling into one, and of these 7,363 (about 95%) were aged 65 or older.

As ways to prevent this, the Consumer Affairs Agency lists warming the changing room and bathroom before you get in, using a thermometer to see the temperature differences between rooms, avoiding hot water and long baths, not standing up suddenly from the bathtub, and, if there is family, telling them before you bathe. This article does not judge whether you may bathe given your health or an existing condition.

From April 2025: Newly Built Housing Must Meet the Energy-Efficiency Standard

Article 10 of the Act on the Improvement of Energy Consumption Performance of Buildings (the Building Energy Efficiency Act), under the 2022 amendment (Act No. 69 of Reiwa 4), provides as follows from April 1, 2025.

When a building owner intends to construct a building (excluding buildings at or below a scale specified by Cabinet Order as having little effect on energy consumption performance), the owner must make the building (in the case of an extension or reconstruction, the part of the building being extended or reconstructed) conform to the building energy consumption performance standard.

Building Energy Efficiency Act, Article 10 (e-Gov Japanese Law Search, retrieved October 2026; translated from the Japanese, no official English text was confirmed)

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism explains that housing and other buildings that start construction from April 2025 are obliged to conform to the energy-efficiency standard, that securing at least a set level of insulation and equipment efficiency has become mandatory, and that the standard is to be raised further by 2030 at the latest. This is a rule for buildings newly built or extended, and does not require existing rental housing to be renovated. The insulation performance of the home you live in now varies with the year it was built and its design.

When You Are in Trouble

• A fire, suspected carbon monoxide poisoning, or an unconscious person while bathing: 119.
• If you smell gas: do not use any flame, open a window, and contact the gas company (our article on contacts for electricity, gas, and water).
• Whether a heating appliance you own is subject to a recall: you can check on the Consumer Affairs Agency’s recall information site (NITE’s guidance).
• Which heating appliances you may use in your home, and how condensation and mold are handled: read the contract and check with the landlord or the management company.