Heavy Snow Hits Many Areas of Japan

Tokyo, Feb. 10 (Jiji Press)--Snowfall and rainfall struck many parts of Japan on Friday as a low-pressure system causing a front moved east-northeast from around the Kyushu southwestern region.

Snow and rain fell mainly in the southern part of the Tohoku northeastern region as well as eastern and western Japan through the morning. The low-pressure system is seen passing through the southern coast of the Honshu main island of Japan through early Saturday.

The Japan Meteorological Agency has called on people to be wary of heavy snowfall in the Kanto eastern region, the Koshin central region, Shizuoka Prefecture in central Japan, and Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures in Tohoku.

The agency warned of avalanches and snow buildup on power lines as well as traffic disruptions in the regions. It also posted heavy snow warnings for most of Tokyo, Saitama Prefecture, north of the capital, and the central prefecture of Nagano, and for all of Yamanashi Prefecture, west of Tokyo.

The transport ministry has advised people in regions with heavy snowfall to refrain from unnecessary travel and use winter tires and snow chains when driving. Some sections of expressways operated by Metropolitan Expressway Co. were closed due to snowfall.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]