TOKYO (Reuters) - A once-in-a-decade typhoon threatened Japan on Tuesday forcing the cancellation of flights and trains and disrupting oil shipments as it made its way across the Pacific directly towards the capital, Tokyo.
Typhoon Wipha is expected to make landfall right around the morning rush hour on Wednesday, bringing hurricane-force winds to the metropolitan area of 30 million people.
The center of the storm was 860 km (535 miles) southwest of Tokyo at 0800 GMT, the Japan Meteorological Agency said on its website. It was moving north-northeast at 35 kph (22 mph).
The storm had weakened as it headed north over the sea but was still packing sustained winds of about 140 kph (87 mph) with gusts as high as 194 kph (120 mph), the agency said.
The agency issued warnings for Tokyo of heavy rain, flooding and gales, and advised people to be prepared to leave their homes quickly and to avoid unnecessary travel.
A spokesman for the agency said the storm was a "once in a decade event" and the strongest cyclone to approach eastern Japan since October 2004.
