Japan’s people are aging as its snow worsens. That’s a lethal combination

For Yoko Toshima, winter hits harder these days. “Perhaps it is because I am getting older, but the way the snow falls seems more extreme than before,” she said.

During the warmer months, the 76-year-old’s small hometown in northern Japan seems an ideal place to live, offering lush parks and historical shrines. Daisen’s renowned summertime fireworks displays draw hundreds of thousands of visitors.

But when winter blows in, all that shifts. “Living alone is fine during the summer, but winter is very challenging because of the snow,” Toshima said. There were times these past few months, under freezing temperatures, when snow piled up “like a mountain” at Toshima’s doorstep, she said. No matter how hard she tried to clear it, it kept coming back.

Read more