Winter storm causes heavy snowfalls in central Japan

Heavy snow in western Japan has stranded hundreds of vehicles on highways on Wednesday night while causing power outages.

About 20,000 households were left without electricity in Kashiwazaki and other cities of Niigata Prefecture. A 27-year-old woman in the area was found dead in a car on Tuesday.

She reportedly died of carbon monoxide intoxication after staying in the car overnight to keep herself warm. A disaster-relief dispatch of the Self-Defence Forces was deployed in some cities of Niigata after the local government requested to resolve the traffic congestion.