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Snow causes driving chaos in Japan, 1 dead

AAP
One of multiple pile-ups on the Tohoku Expressway in northern Japan that have left one dead.
Camera IconOne of multiple pile-ups on the Tohoku Expressway in northern Japan that have left one dead.

One person has been killed and at least a dozen injured as more than 130 cars have been involved in a series of crashes after a snow storm struck a stretch of highway in Japan.

The crashes occurred on the Tohoku Expressway in the northern prefecture of Miyagi, on a stretch of road about 1km long, the government said.

Authorities had imposed a speed limit of 50km/h when heavy snow cut visibility on the road, 340km north of the capital Tokyo, but that was not enough to prevent the pile-ups.

Some 200 people were caught up in the crashes, with 12 sent to hospital, the disaster management agency said.

Rescue operations were under way, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told reporters.

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