Long after sunset, Motoaki Iijima’s illuminated greenhouse north of Tokyo glows like a lantern as the flower farmer harvests pink and orange gerberas, avoiding a daytime sun fierce enough to be deadly.

As increasingly intense heatwaves turn Japanese summers into survival tests, farmers — from flower and asparagus growers to egg producers — are rewriting the agrarian clock.

Once-busy midday hours are now avoided as a mortal threat, replaced by after-dark work to protect crops, livestock and themselves.

When Craig Williams opened his production facility in downtown Los Angeles two years ago, he thought he would rent out the converted furniture warehouse for the occasional music video to sustain his fledgling film business.

Williams was blindsided by a phenomenon that quickly overtook his production space: microdramas, vertically shot serials delivered in two-minute episodes, played on phones.