Typhoon Trami was bearing down on Western Japan on Sunday, already bringing torrential rains and powerful winds, with more than 1,100 flights cancelled.
Many train services, including high-speed Shinkansen bullet trains, have been suspended.
Meanwhile, Kansai International Airport was closed from 11 am (0200 GMT), as the season’s 24th typhoon is projected to make landfall in the Kinki region later in the day.
Trami brought heavy rains and strong winds to Southern and Western Japan and caused a massive power outage on the islands of Okinawa and Kyushu.
According to local power companies, about 313,000 households lost electricity on Kyushu and over 160,000 in the prefecture of Okinawa, where they are conducting a gubernatorial election.
According to local media, Trami battered Okinawa on Saturday with devastating winds and torrential rains, injuring more than 20 people and toppling trees.
“As of 3 pm (0600 GMT), the eye of the storm was about 50 kilometres south of Cape Ashizuri on the island of Shikoku.
“Travelling north-east at 45 kilometres per hour (km/h) with maximum sustained winds of 162 km/h and gusts of 216 km/h,’’ the Meteorological Agency said.
In early September, Typhoon Jebi, the most powerful storm to hit Japan in 25 years, battered western Japan, leaving 11 people dead and over 600 others injured.pummel
Jebi inundated part of the main terminal building at Kansai International Airport and one of its runways, and caused a blackout, while the offshore airport fully opened on Sept. 24.
“Trami is likely to be as powerful as Jebi, or it could be more powerful,’’ Meteorological Agency official Yasushi Kajiwara told a news conference on Saturday. (dpa/NAN)