Record snow disrupts Japan

Hundreds of thousands of homes were without power in central and western Japan today after a record snowfall that also forced the suspension of train services and closed an international airport.

Some 470,000 households in Niigata prefecture have no electricity, probably because the snow and strong winds caused the power lines to short-circuit, said Atsushi Ishii, a spokesman for Tohoku Electric Power. He said the company was investigating.