3 Die, 12 Injured in Heavy Snow in Japan

Tokyo, Jan. 23 (Jiji Press)–Heavy snow mainly pounding the Sea of Japan coast since Tuesday has left three people dead and 12 others injured. According to data compiled by the Fire and Disaster Management Agency as of Friday morning, one person died in each of the cities of Uonuma, Nagaoka and Sado in the central prefecture of Niigata. The injuries were reported in prefectures including Aomori in northeastern Japan and Kyoto in western Japan. Of the total, five people were seriously injured, and seven suffered minor injuries. Of the three fatalities, the victim in Uonuma, a man in his 50s, died after apparently suffering acute illness while unloading snow from the roof of his house, according to the Niigata prefectural government. The other two, a man in his 70s in Nagaoka and a man in his 50s in Sado, died while clearing snow. With a strong winter pressure pattern expected to remain until Sunday, the Japan Meteorological Agency warned of surges in snowfalls in short periods of time, especially in the Tohoku northeastern region and the Hokuriku and Tokai regions in central Japan. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]