Snow has reached 54 inches in Fukui prefecture, 200 miles west of Tokyo, as of 2:00 p.m. (0500 GMT) on Tuesday, the heaviest snowfall in nearly forty years in the region, a local meteorological observatory said.
The traffic standstill, stretching for about 10 km (6 miles)in the prefecture, was caused by some cars going off the shoulder of the road in the snowstorm and others stopping to put on tire chains as a precautionary measure, an official at a local office of the Transport Ministry said.
The official said: “We have blocked traffic heading into the affected area, so no more cars will join the jam.
“In some parts, cars have resumed moving, but only to be caught in a standstill again.”
The snowfall in Fukui is expected to continue at least until Wednesday morning, the local observatory said.