TOKYO—Southwestern Japan braced on Wednesday for what officials say could be one of the strongest storms to ever hit the region, as some residents in the path of Typhoon Shanshan were ordered to evacuate and major firms like Toyota closed factories.
Airlines and rail operators cancelled some services for the coming days as the typhoon, categorized as “very strong,” barreled towards the main southwestern island of Kyushu with gusts of up to 70 meters per second (252 km per hour/157 mph).
