A truck driver died and hundreds of people were injured yesterday as a record snowfall hit western and central Japan that also left hundreds of thousands of homes without power, suspended train services and shut down an international airport, officials said.
A 31-year-old driver was killed as he crashed into another truck on a snow-covered road in western Shiga prefecture, police said, adding they were investigating if the accident was caused by negligence or snow.
At least 532 people were injured across the nation, mostly minor injuries from tripping on snow-covered ground, public broadcaster NHK said.
In Hirakata, near Osaka, five passengers suffered bruises and cuts when a bus skidded on a road, smashing into a utility pole, police spokesman Tomonori Ikezoe said.
As of yesterday, 231cm of snow had fallen in the town of Tsunan in Niigata and 216cm has fallen on Shirakawa Town in central Gifu prefecture, said Kenji Kobayashi, a researcher for the Meteorological Agency.
Train services in Niigata, about 250km northwest of Tokyo, were suspended due to power outages, according to Junpei Yamauchi, a JR East Japan spokesman.
All local and express services as well as some bullet train services in the area were halted, while some night trains linking cities on the west coast were to be canceled, Yamauchi said.
Central Japan International Airport in Aichi prefecture closed its only runway until yesterday afternoon because of the snow, airport spokesman Mitsuoki Hikota said.
More than 1.3 million households had power outages in the north-central prefecture of Niigata and in western Japan. The latter area was without power for 40 minutes yesterday morning after two generators at a nuclear power station shut down.
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
A US uncrewed surface vessel (USV) encountered multiple Chinese warships during an autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait, US defense company Seasats said in a statement on Wednesday. Seasats announced that a Lightfish USV had completed the first autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait. Over five days, the USV traversed the entire length of the Strait while constantly monitoring surface vessel traffic, the company said. The Lightfish encountered multiple Chinese warships, one of which was a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 056 corvette, it said. The Chinese vessels were operating “well within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone without transmitting their identity via the
GREATER REACH? Auto parts and wood products would face tariffs of up to 15%, matching those targeting the EU, Japan and South Korea, Vice Premier said The US has announced that preferential tariff treatment for Taiwan’s non-semiconductor Section 232 goods would take effect retroactively from May 1, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The US government yesterday posted a notice on the Federal Register’s public inspection Web site previewing tariff concessions for Taiwan under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Taiwan-US investment after two months of negotiations. The MOU signed on Jan. 15 stipulated three major preferential tariff arrangements: a 15 percent “reciprocal” tariff rate for Taiwan without stacking most-favored nation (MFN) rates; preferential Section 232 treatment for semiconductors and related products; and preferential Section 232 treatment for non-semiconductor
The National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology yesterday showcased its locally developed variants of the Vision 60 robotic patrol dog, which it plans to deploy on the nation’s outlying territories in the South China Sea. The variants were produced under the Joint Lab project — created by the institute and domestic companies — and assembled with domestically produced motors, lenses and artificial intelligence (AI) systems alongside licensed tech from the US, Missile and Rocket Systems Research Division deputy director Jen Kuo-kang (任國光) told the media event at a military base in Taipei’s Dazhi (大直) area. Taiwan has built up its strengths
RSS