NHK was showing women who had to go to Laundromats to use the dryers. Most Japanese homes have washers but no dryers, and clothes are hung out to dry on small balconies, but the falling ash is making that unfeasible.
Also, the report mentioned that the local pollution had become as bad as Beijing’s. An interesting comparison.
We have had many Japanese homestay students. They also tell me that they dry cloths on racks in the living room or wherever. They are not keen on having friends over as much as we are, in part because there is all this stuff around. They rent party venues or meet people out somewhere.