TOKYO: Japan on Monday (Sep 5) braced for the impact of a strong approaching typhoon, with airlines cancelling flights and some companies suspending production at factories in the western part of the country.
Typhoon Hinnamnor was already pounding parts of the westernmost main island of Kyushu with heavy rain on Monday, with both rain and winds expected to worsen as the storm brushes by on Tuesday and heads towards Korea, which raised its typhoon alert level to the highest.
Parts of Kyushu were expected to be hit by about 300 millimetres of rain in the 24 hours to noon on Tuesday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said, also warning of strong winds and storm surges.
About 70 flights were cancelled on Monday, Japanese media said.
Toyota said it will suspend Monday night shift production starting at 9pm local time and cancel Tuesday morning production at three factories in the western prefecture of Fukuoka.
The automaker expects to resume production on the Tuesday night shift, it said on its website.
Nissan Motor and Nissan Shatai subsidiaries in Fukuoka prefecture were expected to suspend production for Monday night and Tuesday daylight shifts.
Some businesses in South Korea are also contemplating temporary suspensions of operations as typhoon Hinnamnor approaches.