Officials fear rain and the thaw of huge drifts will cause avalanches

Warnings of landslides, avalanches and floods are in place across the country.

Japan's Meteorological Agency has also forecast rain in many areas, likely to increase the risk as snow drifts almost 4m (13ft) deep in places start to melt.

The snow-related death toll has risen to at least 89, media reports say, thought to be the highest since 1980.

More than 1,000 people have been injured, local media reports say.

Many of the casualties have been elderly people who have fallen from their roofs while trying to clear them of snow, or have been crushed by their homes collapsing under the weight.

Troops deployed

Niigata and Nagano prefectures, north-west of Tokyo, were among the hardest-hit of a dozen areas reported affected by snow across Japan.

A 72-year-old man was killed in Niigata on Saturday when his roof caved in under the weight of snow as he slept, police officials said.

Extra funds have been promised to meet the cost of clearing roads

In Nagano, a 64-year-old man reportedly died after falling from a roof while shoveling snow.

An emergency task force has been set up in Niigata to deal with the avalanche threat, a police spokesman told the Associated Press news agency.

About 1,800 points across the prefecture have been identified as posing a risk of avalanche, including hundreds of sites with more than 3m (9ft) of snow, a prefectural official told AP.

Some 2,000 Japanese troops have been deployed to help residents shovel snow.