Tokyo on Thursday saw yellow sand for the first time in two years, with some areas of the nation set to see more of the same over the weekend after a brief respite, the weather agency said.
As of Thursday, 10 major cities, including Sapporo and Niigata, had visibility reduced to between 5 and 10 kilometers, while seven other cities, including Tokyo, had a visibility of over 10 kilometers.
Prior to Thursday, yellow sand hadn't been reported in the capital in April for 16 years. In western areas of Japan such as the Kyushu and Chugoku regions, high levels of yellow sand in April is expected, but it is rare for it to spread to eastern areas such as Tokyo.
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