Heavy snow in Sapporo, Hokkaido island Photo: – / AFLO / Profimedia
Heavy and persistent snow caused by winter atmospheric pressure fronts has affected many areas of Japan in recent days, killing at least 14 people and injuring 198 people across the country, the Japanese Fire and Disaster Management Agency announced on Friday, reports Xinhua, taken by Agerpres.
By Friday morning, Niigata Prefecture had recorded the highest death toll, with seven deaths, followed by Akita Prefecture, with three deaths. One death each was reported in Hokkaido, Aomori, Yamagata and Shimane prefectures.
According to Japanese authorities, many of the deaths occurred during snow removal operations, including falls from roofs, sudden illnesses and incidents in which several people were buried under snow accumulations.
Japan's Aomori region has recorded its heaviest snowfall in over 80 years. The heavy snow has caused traffic chaos in parts of the north, and several people have died. pic.twitter.com/3G48VXXeFP
— DW News (@dwnews) January 30, 2026
Railway services were severely affected by the heavy snowfall. JR Hokkaido has announced that more than 1,400 of its train services have been suspended for three consecutive days starting on January 25, affecting approximately 414,000 passengers.
Also, about 9,000 travelers were stranded at New Chitose Airport on the nights of January 25 and 26 due to a combination of train suspensions and flight cancellations.
The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) stated that this winter atmospheric pressure system brought heavy snowfall mainly from the Sea of Japan to the northern and western regions of Japan, and snow accumulations in certain areas exceeded twice the average value for this time of the year.
Snowfall is expected to continue in the affected areas until next week, and the JMA has urged locals to remain alert to risks such as traffic disruptions, avalanches, snow falling from roofs and accidents during snow removal operations.
