Heavy snowfalls disrupt Japan transportation

East Japan Railway Co. said that it canceled some of the overnight train services linking cities on the west coast of Japan’s main island due to snow. The snow was also causing some trains to be delayed, it said.

Japan Airlines Corp. said that it canceled a total of 19 flights, while its subsidiary Hokkaido Air System canceled 16 flights on Japan’s northernmost main island of Hokkaido.

Kyodo News agency said All Nippon Airlines called off 32 flights.

An ANA flight from Tokyo to Shonai airport in northern prefecture of Yamagata was struck by lightning Saturday, but no one was injured, according to Yasuo Igarashi, an official of the Yamagata prefectural office at the airport.

He could not provide other details but Kyodo reported that the plane with 97 passengers and six crew members was struck by lightning shortly before landing at the airport Saturday morning when it was snowing.

Yamagata is 291 kilometers (182 miles) north of Tokyo.

The Meteorological Agency said that up to 90 centimeters (36 inches) of snow is forecast for mountain parts in Hokkaido and northwestern, central and western Japan through Sunday evening.

Media reports said some regions in Japan have already been hit by record levels of snow since the start of December, despite early forecasts of warm winter.

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