Typhoon Soudelor was moving north-northeast off Yamaguchi Prefecture on the southwestern tip of Honshu on Thursday evening, with its force gradually waning, according to the Meteorological Agency.
But the agency warned of heavy rain, strong winds and high waves, with the season's sixth typhoon causing landslides and transportation disruptions, mainly in southern Kyushu.
A number of railway, bus and ferry services were canceled in Kyushu, while nearly 300 flights -- mostly those arriving in or departing from Kyushu or Shikoku regions -- were canceled by the evening.
As of 4 p.m., the typhoon had an atmospheric pressure of 980 hectopascals and was packing winds of up to 108 kph.
In Fukue, Nagasaki Prefecture, a maximum wind velocity of 148 kph was registered while a maximum wind velocity of 131 kph was registered in Unzen, also in Nagasaki Prefecture. Police said 22 children and workers at an orphanage in Fukue, which is on one of the Goto Islands, were among 81 people who voluntarily evacuated.
Another 105 members of 66 families in Nagasaki Prefecture and 35 members of 26 families in Kagoshima Prefecture voluntarily evacuated to community centers.
Police reported one injury in Miyazaki Prefecture. Landslides were reported at 16 locations in five prefectures, including Kumamoto and Kagoshima, as of noon Thursday, as well as blackouts affecting about 14,600 households in Nagasaki Prefecture and 200 households in Saga and Kagoshima prefectures.