Typhoon Fitow heads for Japan, forecast to weaken

TOKYO, Sep 5 (Reuters) A typhoon moving towards Japan was forecast today to hit a region near Tokyo later in the week and bring heavy rains and strong winds to the capital.

Typhoon Fitow, which means ''beautiful fragrant flower'' in a Micronesian language, was located about 600 km south of Tokyo and moving northwest at 15 kph as of 1630 IST today, Japan's Meteorological Agency said.

Bringing with it winds gusting up to 126 kph (78 mph), the storm was forecast to approach the island of Hachijojima, about 300 km south of Tokyo, by Thursday morning, the agency said.

According to British-based Web site Tropical Storm Risk (www.tropicalstormrisk.com), Fitow was currently classified as a category 1 typhoon, but was forecast to weaken to a tropical storm by 1130 IST tomorrow.

In July, a powerful typhoon, Man-yi, left three people dead and over 70 injured after it hit the southern island of Kyushu and moved along the country's eastern coastline.

REUTERS