18 January 2006 Death toll reaches 100 after Japanese blizzards
Blizzards in Japan have driven the death toll to 100 people in what has been the worst snowfall in two decades.
A six-year-old boy has also been left in a coma after snowfall slid off a roof while he was playing outside.
Avalanche, flooding and landslide warnings have receded slightly, however, with eastern, western and north-eastern parts of the country being downgraded to advisories and a number of roads being temporarily reopened.
"The worst of the danger has passed, although caution about avalanches is still needed in areas where the snowpack remains heavy," a Meteorological Agency official said.
A government team has made a visit to Nagano, one of the worst affected areas, to discuss relief efforts with local officials.
Residents in Niigata prefecture, north-west of Tokyo, were able to go shopping for the first time in four days after a road that had been closed due to the risk of avalanches was briefly reopened. 
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