Typhoon Hagibis, which the U.S. military's forecasting agency has put on par with a Category 5 hurricane, is approaching Japan's main island of Honshu after a rapid intensification in the Pacific and could make a direct pass over the Kanto region this weekend.

The storm, which tracked near the Ogasawara islands through Wednesday, is forecast to continue moving toward Honshu, weakening only slightly before a possible landfall on Saturday night or early Sunday morning.

More precise forecasts for its path are still difficult, and a turn to the west toward central Japan or the east toward the sea remain among the possibilities.