More than 100 shelter overnight in Japan shrine due to heavy snow

BBC News - WorldCenterEN 1 min read 100% complete January 3, 2026 at 11:18 AM

AI Summary

short article 1 min

Due to heavy snowfall and icy conditions, approximately 130 people in 50 cars were stranded at the Mitsumine Shrine in Saitama prefecture, Japan, on Friday. Roads leading to the mountaintop shrine, located 1,110m above sea level, were closed due to safety concerns after several accidents. The local authority confirmed that the stranded individuals sheltered overnight in the shrine's halls and lobbies. Japan is currently experiencing significant snowfall, with up to 80cm having fallen in some areas over the past 72 hours and more expected. The Mitsumine Shrine, a popular Shinto worship center, was founded in the 1st Century.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Emperor Keikō 30% Prince Yamato Takeru no Mikoto 30% Chichibu 40% Japan Meteorological Agency 50% NHK ×260% Saitama prefecture 70% Mitsumine Shrine ×380% Japan ×290%

Keywords

heavy snow 100% japan 90% shrine 80% road closure 70% mitsumine shrine 70% saitama prefecture 60% weather 50% icy conditions 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Neutral

Score: -0.10

Source Transparency

Source

BBC News - World

Political Lean

Center (0.00)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

Geographic Perspective

Japan

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

Topic Connections

Explore how the topics in this article connect to other news stories

No topic relationship data available yet. This graph will appear once topic relationships have been computed.

heavy snow japan shrine road closure mitsumine shrine saitama prefecture weather icy conditions

Explore Full Topic Graph