The powerful typhoon Roke has struck disaster-ravaged Japan, bringing heavy rains and floods that have killed four people.
Typhoon Roke is in progress to hit Fukushima, where engineers are still struggling to bring a nuclear plant under control after the March tsunami, with strong concerns that rain could force radioactive water into the sea.
More than a million people were urged to evacuate their homes across Japan; an advisory was later lifted in one area but 330,000 people remain at risk.
Typhoon Roke made landfall on Wednesday afternoon (05:00 GMT), scouring its way up the main island of Honshu, bringing high winds and torrential rain.
Typhoon is tracking a path across Tokyo towards Fukushima prefecture and is then expected to travel up along the north-east coast, which was battered by the 11 March earthquake and tsunami.
Four people have been found dead after heavy rain and flooding in central and western Japan due to the storm’s approach and another two are missing in the central prefecture of Gifu, including a nine-year-old boy.
Hundreds of flights are cancelled and several motorways have been closed.
Toyota, the car maker is suspending production at 11 of its 15 factories.
According to Japan’s Meteorological Agency, “the highest level of caution be used because of the heavy rain, strong wind, and high waves.”
The meteorological agency has also warned of downpours over a wide area of the country on Wednesday, saying some places could be deluged by as much as 50 mm of rain in an hour.
It is the second time in less than a month that Japan is being hit by a typhoon. Typhoon Talas ripped through the west of the country, leaving about 90 people dead or missing.
