I checked Japan temps are at or below normal. Also, why would Japan be torching from warm waters to the east of Japan that torching effect would be all points east downstream. I will say that the warm SSTs off of Japan is most likely fueling the crazy weather pattern crashing into California and then the pattern redeveloping further east to cause tornadoes in the Southeastern States and the lack of snow in the Middle Atlantic States. We really need to stop thinking locally and start looking globally as to what is going on with sea surface temperatures. Any localities that are east or northeast of a warm body of water such as the Pacific or the Atlantic is experiencing above normal temperatures and below normal snowfall. In closing the state of the SST's are in large part in control of where the moisture and warm air transport is taking place around the northern hemisphere, this is locking the cold air well north over north America. In addition, the strong onshore flow off the Pacific is eroding the cold air in western Canada basically putting up a wall to not allow any southward progression of cold air hence no Alberta Clippers and so forth.
Looking at posts above seems it is a problem all along the northern hemisphere with the warm SST's geeze worse than I thought. The only way then the pattern changes is by cooling the SST's down.