An emergency call was received at around 7.20pm Friday, saying that a car with normal tyres got stuck in snow on a section of the Sanyo Expressway in Hiroshima Prefecture, according to local police.

People from at least four vehicles made similar calls after getting stuck in the same area, police said.

A man in his 30s trapped in the traffic jam called for an ambulance complaining of ringing in the ears, dizziness and nausea, and was taken to hospital, local firefighters said.

The traffic jam hit as some drivers were returning home from visits to their hometowns for the New Year holidays.

A woman in her 40s said her family was driving back to Tokyo from meetings with her family’s relatives in Oita Prefecture when the jam trapped them for about 12 hours from around 7.30pm Friday.