Death toll reaches 176 in rain-deluged western Japan

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), an active seasonal rain front caused torrential rain in most eastern and western regions of Japan since last Thursday.

The agency has warned that Japan's Kinki region, which includes Kyoto, Hyogo and Osaka prefectures, could be particularly hard-hit by downpours, escalating the risk of floods, landslides, lightning and tornadoes.

Regarding the heavy casualty, Emi Masatani, an expert from Japan Bousaisikai, a non-profit disaster-prevention organization, told Xinhua that people in Japan normally attach great importance to prevention of natural disasters, but sometimes fail to pay enough attention to heavy rainfalls as they are predictable.