TOKYO, Sept 21 — A powerful typhoon was approaching Japan's Pacific coast today, bringing torrential rain, violent winds and a heightened risk of landslides across the Kanto region and other parts of eastern Japan.
The Japan Meteorological Agency warned that conditions could deteriorate rapidly as Typhoon Dujuan was forecast to pass close to the Tokyo metropolitan area later in the day.
Heavy rain has already drenched the Izu Islands and parts of Japan's Pacific coast, with some locations recording more than 300mm of rainfall since Saturday (September 19), prompting authorities to issue the highest-level landslide emergency warning for the town of Oshima in the Izu Islands, about 110km south of Tokyo.
It added that downpours could intensify from today afternoon as the typhoon nears the Kanto region, an area that includes Tokyo and surrounding prefectures.
At the Asian Games in central Japan's Aichi Prefecture, organisers postponed the equestrian eventing competition until tomorrow due to the approaching typhoon.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's departure for New York, the United States, to attend the United Nations General Assembly was delayed by four hours because of the storm, with the government saying she would now leave Tokyo at 11pm JST (1500 GMT).
Authorities cautioned that linear rain bands could form over Kanto and central Japan, sharply raising the risk of flash floods and other rain-related disasters.
Linear bands, which have become a growing concern in Japan in recent years, can dump extraordinary amounts of rain over a narrow area for several hours.
Typhoon Dujuan comes amid a year of extreme weather events around the world, with unusually intense rainfall, flooding, and tropical cyclones affecting regions from East Asia to North America and Europe.
