Tokyo: The death toll while clearing snow-covered houses in Japan has exceeded 60.
This was announced by the Minister of State Lands, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Kazuyoshi Aqaba. He said that the government will provide emergency financial assistance to the northern regions of the country, where there are not enough resources to clear snow.
“The state will quickly calculate the required amounts and provide assistance for the safe removal of snow. We are extremely concerned about the record number of deaths during the clearance”, - the minister said at a press conference in Tokyo.
Most of the dead are elderly people who fell from the roofs of their homes or died under the snow.