\n<\/p>\n
(Corrects location of Shizuoka Prefecture to west of Tokyo, not east, in final paragraph)<\/p>\n
TOKYO, June 3 (Reuters) – Severe tropical storm \u200cJangmi ripped across Japan on Wednesday morning, with fierce winds \u200cand torrential rain disrupting transport and businesses, and knocking out power for tens of \u200bthousands of homes.<\/p>\n
The storm’s centre lay off the central, main island of Honshu, tracking northeast towards the greater Tokyo region with maximum sustained winds of up to 25 metres (82 feet) per second, Japan’s Meteorological Agency said, \u200cadding that some areas \u2060along the Pacific coast are at an increasing risk of “life-threatening disasters”.<\/p>\n
The storm, with a central pressure of 980 \u2060hPa, has cut power to nearly 60,000 households so far, government spokesperson Minoru Kihara said during a regular press briefing.<\/p>\n
“If you sense any danger, \u200bplease do \u200bnot hesitate to take early action \u200bto protect your lives,” Kihara \u200csaid.<\/p>\n
Evacuation advisories were issued to hundreds of thousands of residents in eight prefectures across southwestern, central and eastern Japan.<\/p>\n
Airlines including Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways had cancelled nearly 900 international and domestic services on Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n
Some bullet train services in Kyushu, in the southwest, and areas \u200cof western Japan were delayed, while \u200bEast Japan Railway said that some rail \u200bservices in the Tokyo area \u200bwere suspended and more could be affected over the \u200ccourse of the day.<\/p>\n
Bracing for \u200bsevere weather conditions, Toyota \u200bMotor said on Tuesday that it would suspend operations at 13 domestic plants on Wednesday morning. Suzuki Motor is also halting \u200bwork at all \u200cfive plants in Shizuoka Prefecture, west of Tokyo, in the \u200bmorning.<\/p>\n
(Reporting by Mariko Katsumura; Additional reporting by Kaori Kaneko and \u200bKantaro Komiya; Editing by Kevin Buckland)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n