Heavy snow has blanketed the western and northern coasts of Japan over the weekend, lowering visibility and disrupting traffic.
Visibility is very poor in cities in coastal areas, and accumulating snow, which is narrowing the roads by the hour, is causing many accidents and stranding many cars.
Local governments dispatched snow plows to clear roads, but they made little progress as the snow accumulated faster and over a wide area.
Even in central parts of Tokyo, snow accumulated so quickly that people could barely manage to keep sidewalks accessible.
Public transportation was disrupted, with several bus and train lines suspending operations, and more than 160 flights canceled.
The heavy snow comes after lower than average snowfall until mid-January had forced many ski resorts to close down.
Such weather would have been a blessing to the regions relying on winter tourism, but the long awaited snow over the weekend has caused more havoc than good.
The snow is expected to last until Monday evening.
Japan’s meteorological agency has issued several warnings and temperatures have dropped far below the average low for January.
Snowfall was also observed in the subtropical Amami Island in southern Japan for the first time in 115 years.
