Typhoon Dujuan Leaves Four Dead and Triggers Severe Travel Disruption Near Tokyo

Typhoon Dujuan has swept across Japan's Pacific coast, unleashing torrential downpours and triggering destructive landslides that have resulted in at least four deaths and left six individuals missing. According to public broadcaster NHK, the powerful storm has severely impacted the Kanto region, cutting off power to tens of thousands of households and disrupting major aviation, rail, and highway networks near the capital.

The severe weather claimed the life of a woman in her 60s in the city of Yokosuka after mud poured directly into her residence. Authorities reported that three other fatalities involved individuals ranging in age from their 50s to their 80s, following dangerous landslides in the Kanagawa and Chiba prefectures. Rescue teams deployed inflatable boats and emergency equipment to reach stranded residents in flooded communities such as Sakura, Chiba prefecture, as rising waters inundated neighborhoods.

Infrastructure and utility providers reported extensive damage across the affected zones. The Tokyo Electric Power Co stated on its website that approximately 45,000 households lost electricity in the Kanagawa region, located directly south of Tokyo. The heavy precipitation also caused widespread flooding in municipal areas, including parts of Ichikawa east of the capital and near Kamakura station, a well-known tourist destination.

Kamakura Mayor Takashi Matsuo urged caution on the social media platform X, noting that flooding had affected various parts of the city and warning that driving by car remained hazardous. Social media imagery depicted waterlogged streets and submerged urban corridors as the storm made its powerful presence felt across the eastern coastline.

The severe meteorological conditions caused major disruptions to transportation networks as millions prepared for the start of the week. At Tokyo's Haneda Airport, numerous passengers found themselves stranded after airlines were forced to scrap schedules. Japan Airlines cancelled 135 flights, while All Nippon Airways scrapped 140 flights on Monday alone. Ground transportation also suffered, with Japan Railways temporarily suspending select rail services, including vital bullet train connections running between Tokyo and Osaka.

Cultural and commercial events across the region faced abrupt cancellations or early curtailments due to the storm. Organizers of the Tokyo Game Show, recognized as one of the largest video game trade fairs globally, announced the early closure of the exhibition on Monday, which was scheduled to be its final day. Additionally, a major outdoor music festival and a scheduled baseball match in Chiba prefecture were called off to ensure public safety.

By early Tuesday, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) reported that Typhoon Dujuan had shifted away from the eastern coastline and was moving northeast over the Pacific Ocean toward the Aleutian Islands. Despite the storm's offshore trajectory, JMA official Takuya Hosomi warned that residual risks remained. In regions where ongoing weather warnings stayed in effect, officials cautioned that heavy rainfall could persist even as the typhoon tracked northward.

Dujuan marks the 25th typhoon to affect Japan this year. The nation frequently experiences severe tropical storms during the late summer and early autumn months, prompting well-established emergency response protocols across vulnerable prefectures.