A powerful typhoon approached the Tokyo region on Tuesday, delaying flights and traffic and causing a sea accident as Japan braced for downpours.
Typhoon Banyan was near Miyakejima island, 180km south of Tokyo, and racing up at 30kph at 8am GMT, the meteorological agency said.
Packing winds of up to 90kph, Banyan was to strike the eastern edge of Tokyo in Chiba prefecture late on Tuesday and move along the Pacific coast of eastern Japan through Wednesday, the agency said.
But intense rain fell on and off in downtown Tokyo late on Tuesday afternoon, with many businesspeople opting to go home early to escape the typhoon as several train services were called off.
At least 43 domestic flights linking Tokyo to the rest of the country were cancelled and some expressways were impassable because of the pouring rain, the Japan Broadcasting Corporation said.
A sailboat was wrecked in the Pacific east of Hachijojima island, 300km south of Tokyo, but the two crew members were rescued by an air-force helicopter, a coast-guard official said.
Rainfall for the 24 hours to noon on Wednesday could reach 250mm in most of the mainland facing the Pacific, and 150mm to 200mm in the northern part of the mainland facing the Sea of Japan, according to the weather agency.
Banyan is the region’s seventh typhoon of the season, although none of the others caused any major damage to Japan.
Last year, a record 10 typhoons hit mainland Japan. The last of them, Tokage, was the deadliest typhoon in a quarter-century, killing 90 people. — Sapa-AFP