TOKYO: Japan deployed the military on Thursday (Dec 17) to help residents trapped by record snowfall that has blanketed parts of the country, with 10,000 homes losing power in the north and west.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga called an emergency Cabinet meeting and urged the public to be cautious, as local media reported more than 1,000 cars were stranded on an expressway connecting Tokyo to Niigata in the north.