Record snow hits Japan

TOKYO, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- Japanese emergency services workers continued efforts Wednesday to reach 500 people cut off by record snowfall in the Nagano and Niigata prefectures.

Officials with the Ground Self-Defense Force said essential supplies and utilities had been secured for Tsunan and Sakae on the northwest side of the Japanese island of Honshu. However, National Route 405 linking the towns remained blocked.

Since early December, unusually heavy snow has blanketed Japan and caused 72 deaths, Japan Times reported.

A record 155 inches of snow has fallen on Tsunan, breaking the January 1996 record of 119 inches.

The heavy snow affected about 900 municipalities in Japan.