A powerful typhoon was bearing down on southern Japanese islands Friday, with weather authorities warning of strong winds and high waves in the region, dpa reported. Slow-moving Typhoon Noru was expected to approach Amami Oshima Island and Okinawa's main island later in the day, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. As of 8 am (2300 GMT Thursday), the eye of the storm was 210 kilometres east of Amami Oshima Island, travelling west at 15 kilometres per hour (kph), with maximum sustained winds of 144 kph and gusts of 216 kph, the agency said. All ferries in the region had been cancelled, the Okinawa Times newspaper reported. The season's fifth typhoon is projected to hit the southern island of Kyushu and western Japan on Monday, the agency said.
