Strong typhoon hits Western Japan

A large and powerful typhoon was heading north Tuesday, lashing Shikoku Island and parts of the Kinki region in western Japan with strong winds of over 90 kilometers per hour, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. At around 12:30 am (local time) on Wednesday, the typhoon hit the southern part of Tokushima Prefecture on Shikoku -- the first typhoon landfall in Japan this year and the first in July in four years, the agency said. Torrential rain and strong winds due to the typhoon have injured at least 47 people in 15 prefectures with another reported missing and disrupted public transportation. Total rainfall from slow-moving Typhoon Ma-on could exceed 1,000 millimeters on the Pacific side of western and eastern Japan, the agency said. Northeastern Japan, hit by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, and the Hokuriku region facing the Sea of Japan may also experience heavy rain as the typhoon approaches, it said.