As of January 20, more than 100 people have been injured due to snowstorms. Japanese authorities, facing nearly two-meter snow drifts in Aomori, received assistance from the country's Self-Defense Forces. Meanwhile, about 1,000 snowplows are actively clearing snow from 2,300 miles of road network in Sapporo.
Last week, heavy snowfall led to the closure of Hokkaido Airport and several highways, which also caused delays in train services.
At the same time, on January 28, The Guardian reported more than 40 casualties from a winter storm in the U.S., which affected more than a dozen states, where fatalities due to the cold have been recorded.
