Snowstorms may hit areas along the Sea of Japan in the Hokuriku and Tohoku regions from Friday through Saturday morning, the Meteorological Agency said.</PARAGRAPH> <PHOTO> <TABLE WIDTH='250' ALIGN='RIGHT' BORDER='0'> <TR> <TD><IMG ALT='News photo' BORDER='0' SRC='../images/photos2006/nn20061230a7a.jpg' WIDTH='250' HEIGHT='351'/></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD><FONT SIZE='1'><B>Snow falls Friday morning on Kinkakuji Temple. Kyoto had its first snowfall of the season the day before. </B> KYODO PHOTO</FONT></TD> </TR> <TABLE> </PHOTO> <PARAGRAPH>The agency also warned against gusty winds in Sea of Japan-facing areas, forecasting winds of up to 72 kph in the Hokuriku and Tohoku regions and winds of up to 54 kph in areas of Hokkaido and the Kinki and Sanin regions.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>Even stronger winds are forecast for waters around these areas, and they are likely to generate waves of 6 to 8 meters, according to the agency.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>For the 24 hours through 6 a.m. Saturday, snowfall may reach 70 to 80 cm in Niigata and Nagano prefectures as well as the Tohoku region on the Sea of Japan coast, 40 to 60 cm in parts of Hokkaido bordering the Sea of Okhotsk, and in the Hokuriku, Sanin and Kinki regions facing the Sea of Japan.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>Meanwhile, Kyoto, Nagoya and Tsu, Mie Prefecture, had the first snowfall of the season Thursday due to the typical winter pressure pattern.</PARAGRAPH> <SUBHEAD> A nice warm jail cell</SUBHEAD> <PARAGRAPH> AMAGASAKI, Hyogo Pref. –

Police arrested a homeless man Friday for breaking into the Amagasaki branch of the Kobe Public Prosecutor's Office, apparently so he could be jailed and get out of the cold.

Manabu Nakao, 46, who is unemployed and has no fixed address, turned himself in to police Friday morning, after breaking the office window with a concrete block.

"I broke the window of the prosecutors' office. Please arrest me," Nakao was quoted as saying by police.

Police arrested Nakao for attempted theft. Although he did not steal anything, he admitted he had been looking for something to steal. Police believe he wanted to be arrested to escape the cold.