Flood warnings as storm moves towards Tokyo

A severe tropical storm moved towards Tokyo on Wednesday, with forecasters warning of floods after torrential rain battered swathes of the country and prompted calls to evacuate for hundreds of thousands of people.

Storm Jangmi -- which was downgraded from a typhoon -- injured 15 people in southern Japan on Tuesday, knocked out power to thousands of homes and grounded hundreds of flights.

Authorities have warned of further disruption on Wednesday, with possible transport delays in Tokyo, while some schools in the capital have closed.

Japan's two biggest airliners All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines cancelled a combined 616 flights -- including 92 international flights -- scheduled for Wednesday.

Waves hit the coastline as severe tropical storm Jangmi approaches in Tateyama, Chiba prefecture on Wednesday. AFP

Around 370,000 people across a swath of the country from Shikoku island in western Japan to Tokyo have been urged to evacuate, the government said in a statement.

As of 6am on Wednesday (2100 GMT Tuesday), there was no new report of injuries but six buildings were partially destroyed.

Torrential rain filled rivers in western and eastern Japan including in the Tokyo area, with the Japan Meteorological Agency issuing flood warnings for regions including densely populated Aichi prefecture in central Japan and Tokyo.

Agence France-Presse