Millions evacuated as deadly Typhoon Shanshan slams into southern Japan

Millions of people have been told to evacuate from their homes as Typhoon Shanshan lashed southwest Japan with strong winds and heavy rain, knocking out power, snarling air traffic and forcing major factories to close.

At least three people have been killed so far and scores injured on Thursday in what authorities have warned could be one of the strongest ever storms to hit the region.

Major automaker Toyota suspended operations in all of its domestic plants due to the storm, while Nissan, Honda and chipmakers Renesas and Tokyo Electron also temporarily halted production at some factories.

The typhoon, with gusts of up to 180 kilometres per hour was near Unzen city in Nagasaki Prefecture at 1:45 pm (0445 GMT), moving north at about 15 kilometres per hour, according to the weather agency.

Around 230,000 households in seven prefectures were without power in the afternoon, according to Kyushu Electric Power Co.

The utility earlier said there as no impact at its Sendai Nuclear Power Plant in Satsumasendai city, where the storm made landfall earlier on Thursday.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told a news conference that three people had died and one was missing in incidents related to the typhoon, while the disaster management agency said 45 had suffered injuries.

After hovering over Kyushu for the next few days, the storm is expected to approach the central and eastern regions, including the capital Tokyo, around the weekend, the weather agency said.

More than 5.2 million people have been issued evacuation notices across the country, authorities said.

'Special warnings'

The Japan Meteorological Office warned that "the risk of a disaster due to heavy rain can rapidly escalate in western Japan as Friday approaches."

For Kagoshima, the JMA issued "special warnings of violent storms, high waves and high tides".

For southern Kyushu, the JMA predicted an enormous 1,100 millimetres (43 inches) of precipitation in the 48 hours to Friday morning.

Heavy rain brought by Shanshan has been lashing large parts of Japan since Tuesday.

Three members of a family died after a landslide buried a house in Gamagori, a city in central Aichi prefecture, late on Tuesday, local media reported.

The deceased included a couple in their 70s as well as a son in his 30s, while two adult daughters in their 40s survived with injuries, Kyodo News reported.

Japan Airlines and ANA cancelled 542 domestic flights between them for Thursday and Friday, affecting 39,100 passengers.

Typhoons in the region have been forming closer to coastlines, intensifying more rapidly and lasting longer over land due to the climate crisis, according to a study released last month.