Typhoon Malakas hits southern Japan, heads towards Tokyo

A strong typhoon made landfall on south-western Japan on Tuesday, causing floods, forcing flight cancellations and prompting local authorities to issue evacuation advisories for more than 600,000 residents.

Typhoon Malakas is expected to head north-east along Japan's pacific coast towards Tokyo before going out into the Pacific Ocean by early Wednesday morning, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

It will likely be downgraded to a depression by 9:00 am on Wednesday, the agency added.

Local authorities issued evacuation advisories for about 632,500 people in six prefectures in western Japan, Jiji news agency said.

Accordign to Jiji, two people were slightly injured in southern Kyushu, while public broadcaster NHK reported more than 100 domestic flights have been cancelled.