WNAM REPORT: Transportation in Japan including bullet trains and flights faced suspensions and possible further cancellations in the coming days as the weather agency said Tuesday a powerful typhoon may make landfall in the country later this week.
Typhoon Shanshan, located near the Amami island region in southwestern Japan, was advancing at a sluggish pace that could cause extended disruption, with the Japan Meteorological Agency forecasting heavy rain in a wide area covering Amami and western and eastern Japan’s Pacific coast.
The agency urged residents to be on alert for landslides, flooding in low-lying areas and overflowing of swollen rivers. Amami and parts of western Japan are also expected to see strong winds, the agency said.
Heavy rains on Tuesday have already caused intermittent suspensions of Tokaido Shinkansen bullet train services between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka stations.
Kyushu Shinkansen bullet trains in both directions between Kumamoto and Kagoshima-Chuo stations in the country’s southwest will be suspended from Wednesday night and will not run Thursday, the operator said.
Cancellations could spread further, with Tokaido Shinkansen bullet train services facing partial or full suspensions from Friday through Saturday, while Sanyo Shinkansen trains could be affected in the three days beginning Thursday.
In air travel, major airlines All Nippon Airways Co. and Japan Airlines Co. said that flights at airports from central to southwestern Japan could be subject to cancellations from Tuesday through Saturday, with some southwestern Japan services already canceled.
Some JAL international arrivals and departures at Chubu airport in central Japan’s Aichi Prefecture and Kansai airport in Osaka Prefecture in the country’s west on Wednesday are also canceled, the airline said.
