Japan Snowfall Kills 30, Injures Over 200

Heavy snowfall across northern and western Japan since January 20 has resulted in at least 30 deaths and more than 200 injuries from related accidents and collapses, officials reported Tuesday.

The intense winter weather, driven by a persistent cold air mass from the Arctic along the Sea of Japan coast, has blanketed regions with record amounts of snow, far exceeding seasonal averages. In Aomori Prefecture, the hardest-hit area, up to 183 centimeters of snow fell in a single 24-hour period on Monday, the most since 1986 and more than double the typical accumulation for this time of year. Some remote parts of the prefecture still have snow depths reaching 4.5 meters, burying homes and stranding residents.

Among the fatalities was a 91-year-old woman in Ajigasawa, Aomori, whose body was discovered under a three-meter pile of snow outside her home, with an aluminum shovel nearby. Local police believe she suffocated after snow from her rooftop fell on her as temperatures rose, causing it to slide. Officials described the area under rooftops as particularly hazardous during such events. In Niigata Prefecture, 12 people have died, including two men swept away in a snow-disposal...