Four people died and about 7,000 travelers were stranded at Narita International Airport after record rainfall inundated Chiba Prefecture, prompting transport shutdowns and raising concerns over holiday travel flows and potential supply‑chain delays for airline operators.
More than 360 mm of rain fell in 24 hours, with Chiba city recording a 115 mm one‑hour total and Sakura 97 mm, both historic highs. Governor Toshihito Kumagai described the event as unprecedented. Power outages affected roughly 25,000‑26,000 households, and the Japan Self‑Defense Forces deployed buses to evacuate about 4,000 stranded commuters, while soldiers assisted relief efforts.
Highways linking Narita to central Tokyo were closed, forcing traffic onto secondary routes, while several rail lines were suspended until Friday afternoon. Japan Airlines and other carriers said flights would operate as scheduled, though delays were expected. The disruption threatens to impact tourism revenue and logistics for businesses reliant on the airport during Japan’s peak holiday week.
Sources differ on the scale of outages and missing persons: one account cites 25,000 households without power, another 26,000; the death toll is confirmed at four, yet a separate report mentions a fifth person feared dead and a sixth unaccounted for. Stranded numbers also vary, with 7,000 cited at the airport and 4,000 evacuated by bus.