Snowfall Causes More Than 130 Injured In Tokyo

Snow illustration in Tokyo. (Wikimedia Commons/Trung_Kaching)

JAKARTA - More than 130 people were taken to a hospital in Tokyo until Tuesday, after many slipped and fell due to heavy snowfall in eastern Japan, the Tokyo Fire Department said.

The injured victims were 4 to 92 years old and none were in a life-threatening condition, the department said, according to Kyodo News on February 6.

In the adjacent Kanagawa Prefecture, more than 30 people were injured, while more than 50 people were slightly injured in Saitama Prefecture.

Japan's Meteorological Agency lifted heavy snow warnings in nine prefectures, but snow and rain continued in some areas throughout the morning.

Meanwhile, most of the Chuo Line and Ome Line sections, which were under the JR East service, were temporarily suspended, resumed operations on Tuesday afternoon.

According to JR East, six express trains were stuck at the station for more than 10 hours a night, forcing more than 1,600 passengers to spend the night in them. One of them was taken to the hospital because he felt unwell.

Separately, many passengers at Tokyo's Shinjuku Station were seen asking for money and moving to another train line.

"The train was canceled when I arrived at the station. Business negotiations had to be postponed to another day," said a woman planning to leave for Kofu Station in Yamanashi Prefecture for work.

Meanwhile, All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines airlines canceled about 30 domestic flights, mostly to or from Tokyo's Haneda airport.

As of Monday evening, Maebashi in Gunma Prefecture recorded a high snowfall of up to 11 centimeters, while downtown Tokyo and Saitama experienced 8 cm of snow, respectively, according to the meteorological agency.