--- title: Japan: Extreme Snowfall Leads to 8 Deaths and Injures 610 description: Snowfall in Japan has caused eight deaths and injured more than 610 people since extreme weather began buffeting the country this weekend canonical: https://time.com/4193698/japan-weather-snow-winter-east-asia/ author: Mark Rivett-Carnac article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-01-26T09:18:31.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T14:26:23.536Z article:section: World og:title: Snowfall Kills 8, Injures 610 In Japan og:description: The severe weather is part of a big chill that has rolled through East Asia. og:url: https://time.com/4193698/japan-weather-snow-winter-east-asia/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf1396bf3ce3dc678/69887a96196cf4321903a03e/ap_67018078391.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Heavy snow continues to fall in western Japan og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Snowfall Kills 8, Injures 610 In Japan twitter:description: The severe weather is part of a big chill that has rolled through East Asia. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf1396bf3ce3dc678/69887a96196cf4321903a03e/ap_67018078391.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Extreme Snowfall Leads to 8 Deaths and Injures 610 in Japan by [Mark Rivett-Carnac](/author/mark-rivett-carnac/) ## Mark Rivett-Carnac Jan 26, 2016 9:18 AM CUT  Houses damaged by a snowslide in Nichinan, Japan, on Jan. 25, 2016, killing one elderly female Houses damaged by a snowslide in Nichinan, Japan, on Jan. 25, 2016, killing one elderly femaleTetsuya Kikumasa—AP by [Mark Rivett-Carnac](/author/mark-rivett-carnac/) ## Mark Rivett-Carnac Jan 26, 2016 9:18 AM CUT Heavy snowfall in Japan has caused eight deaths and injured more than 610 people since extreme weather began buffeting the country this weekend. A winter pressure pattern unleashed record levels of snowfall and paralyzed transportation systems, according to Japan’s [_Mainichi_](http://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20160126/p2g/00m/0dm/011000c "undefined") newspaper. All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines both canceled flights; 110 passengers were stranded on a bullet train on Monday; and one weather agency warned of avalanches and icy roads. Some areas of western Japan were blanketed by about 20 in. of snow. Even islands further south felt the cold. Okinawa witnessed its second recorded snowfall in history on Sunday. The punishing weather in Japan is part of a broader chill that has rolled through [East Asia](http://time.com/4192220/weather-east-asia-taiwan-japan-cold-winter/ "undefined"). Cities from Beijing to Hong Kong saw mercury drop well below seasonal averages this weekend. \[[_Mainichi_](http://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20160126/p2g/00m/0dm/011000c "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4193698/japan-weather-snow-winter-east-asia/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4193698/japan-weather-snow-winter-east-asia/"},"headline":"Extreme Snowfall Leads to 8 Deaths and Injures 610 in Japan","datePublished":"2016-01-26T09:18:31.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T14:26:23.536Z","description":"The severe weather is part of a big chill that has rolled through East Asia","url":"https://time.com/4193698/japan-weather-snow-winter-east-asia/","keywords":["weather","snow","winter","Japan","East Asia"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf1396bf3ce3dc678/69887a96196cf4321903a03e/ap_67018078391.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mark Rivett-Carnac","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/mark-rivett-carnac/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf1396bf3ce3dc678/69887a96196cf4321903a03e/ap_67018078391.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Heavy snow continues to fall in western Japan","caption":"Heavy snow continues to fall in western Japan","creditText":"Tetsuya Kikumasa—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4193698/japan-weather-snow-winter-east-asia/","name":"Extreme Snowfall Leads to 8 Deaths and Injures 610 in Japan"}}]}] ```