Japan Urges Power Savings to Avoid Blackout Amid Cold Weather

After a powerful 7.3-magnitude quake jolted east Japan, people stay along a street of a residential area during a power outage in Koto district in Tokyo early on March 17, 2022. Philip Fong/AFP via Getty Images

Japan’s government on Tuesday urged citizens and businesses to conserve electricity, warning that the capital of Tokyo could face blackouts as a result of the cold weather and power plant outages caused by last week’s earthquake.

Snow fell in Tokyo on Tuesday, with temperatures forecast to peak at just 4 degrees Celsius (39.2 degrees Fahrenheit), compared with a high of 14 degrees on Monday.