United States
United Kingdom
Canada
Australia
New Zealand
IrelandHokkaido's deepening freeze sharpens the heating-cost squeeze
Temperatures fell below -20°C after a report showed residents rationing kerosene and a pensioner unable to pay a delivery bill in full.
JapanWhy this story? One of ANNnewsCH's most watched videos since yesterday, with 419,788 views.
ANNnewsCH: The news channel of ANN, a Japanese news network led by TV Asahi. 5.1M subscribers and 6.4B views.
灯油高騰に代金払えない人も 北海道でマイナス10.4度…各地で今季一番の冷え込み【報道ステーション】(2026年11月9日)
Things we can learn from the video
Press to jump
- 0:00Shumarinai records its deepest early-November snow cover in a decade, bringing prolonged shoveling for residents.
- 1:14Rikubetsu reaches -10.4°C, reported as Japan's lowest temperature of the season at that point.
- 1:39Record delivered-kerosene prices prompt consumer groups to seek government help with heating costs.
- 2:58A fuel supplier describes deferring part of a pensioner's bill and customers cutting kerosene consumption.
- 4:38Tokyo's abrupt chill brings warm-snack sales in Asakusa and demand for outdoor kotatsu dining in Shibuya.
The cold has intensified since cameras visited Hokkaido's snow-covered towns. A November 11 follow-up reports that Horokanai fell below -20°C, Japan's earliest recorded crossing of that threshold, adding urgency to residents' accounts of struggling to afford heating.
Japan's All-Nippon News Network (ANNnewsCH), operated by TV Asahi, puts those household pressures at the center of its November 9 Hōdō Station report. Hokkaido is Japan's northernmost main island, where the fuel supplier interviewed describes heating as essential when water begins to freeze.
Delivered kerosene had reached a record 160 yen per liter in Hokkaido, according to energy-agency figures cited in the report. One resident says they have held off switching on the stove, relying instead on extra clothing indoors.
A local fuel-company president describes a pensioner whose delivery cost 36,000 yen rather than the usual 30,000. The customer could only pay the usual amount, so the company carried the balance forward. He says customers are reducing their consumption, with usage down by roughly a tenth to a fifth compared with a normal year.
The Hokkaido Consumer Co-operative Federation has petitioned national and prefectural authorities for support. Its representative describes households confronting a choice between keeping warm and cutting their food spending.
The report also shows the work arriving with the weather. Shumarinai, in Horokanai, accumulated more than half a meter of snow, its deepest early-November cover in a decade, according to the broadcast. A resident describes spending about an hour and a half shoveling, with several places still needing attention.
Tokyo supplies a contrasting picture of the same cold spell. Tourists bundle up in Asakusa, where a shop worker says demand has shifted from soft-serve ice cream to hot fried manju. After dark, customers gather beneath heated, blanket-covered kotatsu tables on a Shibuya restaurant terrace. One says it is their first experience of a kotatsu, while the manager reports that most reservations specifically request those seats.
Japan’s second-largest and northernmost main island. It also forms the country’s largest and northernmost prefecture, including surrounding islands.
More on Wikipedia ›A town in Hokkaido’s Kamikawa Subprefecture, Japan.
More on Wikipedia ›Published on Trari
Where next?
- Channel
- ANNnewsCH
- Subscribers
- 5,100,000 ▲ 10,000 this week
- Channel views, last 7 days
- 29,206,066
- Channel views, pace per day
- 1,358,333 (on a normal day: 3,445,579)
- Video published
- November 9, 2026
- Video views so far
- 528,220 (2 days online)
- Video views, pace per day
- 419,787 (on a normal day: 146,901)
The numbers
The November 9 report drew about 420,000 views since yesterday, placing it among Japan's most-watched news videos over that period.
💡 Test your knowledge
Which of Japan's four main islands lies farthest north?
Hokkaido is the northernmost of Japan's four main islands and the setting for the report's heating-cost concerns.