Typhoon Noul passed over central and eastern Japan to the Pacific in the northeast by Wednesday morning, bringing strong winds and heavy rain and disrupting traffic in some areas.
At 6 p.m. Tuesday, the typhoon was downgraded to an extratropical depression, but the storm continued to move northeast at a rapid pace and brought strong winds and heavy rain to central and eastern regions.
Rainfall in the 24 hours through 6 p.m. Wednesday is expected to total up to 150 mm in central Japan, 120 mm in the Osaka area and 100 mm in eastern Japan.
The storm forced bullet train runs on the Tokaido Shinkansen Line in Shizuoka Prefecture to be halted Tuesday evening after the amount of rain exceeded the safety limit, Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai) said.
The suspension and delays that followed affected some 16,000 passengers, the operator said.
The storm also forced All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines to cancel 47 flights Tuesday, affecting more than 4,300 people. Smaller airlines also suspended flights, mainly in southwestern Japan.
