Heavy snow kills at least 3, disrupts transport in Japan

One man died Sunday when his car skidded on an icy road and crashed into a lamp post at a gas station in the southwestern prefecture (state) of Kagawa, according to police official Takeshi Kawasaki.

An 89-year-old man in Niigata prefecture in northwestern Japan died after he was buried in about 1.5 meters (5 feet) of snow near his house, police said. He went missing on Friday evening and was found dead on Saturday, according to a police official who declined to be named citing his branch’s policy.

Menwhile, a 67-year-old man in western Fukui prefecture Sunday died when he fell off the roof of his house, from which he had been sweeping snow, said police official Shigeo Iwase.

As cold conditions continued to engulf much of Japan, Japan Airlines Corp. canceled 48 flights Sunday, the airline said on its Web site.

National broadcaster NHK said All Nippon Airlines and two small airlines canceled a further 50 flights.

The Meteorological Agency warned that up to 1 meter (3.3 feet) of snow will fall in northwestern Japan through Monday. It also forecast strong winds and high waves in northern and western Japan.

East Japan Railway Co. canceled some of the overnight train services linking Tokyo and cities on the west coast of Japan’s main island. The snow was also causing delay to some express trains, the company said.

The unusually cold weather and heavy snowfall has been the top news story on Japanese broadcasters for nearly a week. Media reports say some regions have already been hit by record levels of snow since the start of December despite early forecasts of a warm winter.

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