Slow tropical storm dumps heavy rain around Tokyo after causing floods in southern Japan

TOKYO (AP) — A slow-moving tropical storm had a far-reaching impact in much of Japan on Friday, dumping heavy rain around Tokyo and flooding roads and riverside areas in the south.

Flooding was reported in a number of areas in Kanagawa prefecture, west of Tokyo, where floodwater blocked roads, stalling vehicles and traffic. Warnings for heavy rain and potential landslides included the densely populated capital, Kanagawa and nearby Shizuoka prefecture.

Muddy water flowed down the Meguro River in one of Tokyo's popular cherry blossom viewing spots, the water significantly swollen from its usual levels, NHK television footage showed.

In Hiratsuka town, dozens of cars in a parking lot sat in water just below their windows. A pedestrian waded through floodwater as high as his thighs. In another Kanagawa town, Ninomiya, floodwater from a river stalled vehicles on a street and broken tree branches were stuck on a bridge over the swollen water.

Tropical Storm Shanshan made landfall Thursday morning on the southern main island of Kyushu as a powerful typhoon. It steadily weakened but did not move much. It was on the northern edge of the Shikoku island, east of Kyushu, Friday night. The slow pace increases the amount and duration of the rainfall and risks of disaster, experts say.

Before the storm made landfall, it caused a landslide that killed three people. Three more have since been found dead, according to prefectural disaster management offices.

A man in his 80s died in Fukuoka, after falling into a river. Another elderly man died when he was thrown to the ground at a shrine in the Saga prefecture. A sixth victim was killed in Tokushima when the roof of his house fell on him.

About 100 people have been injured across the country, most of them in the Kyushu region. Two people are missing.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said Shanshan was heading east toward the Shikoku and Honshu main islands with 72 kph (44 mph) winds but a forward speed of just 10 kph (6 mph).

JMA forecast up to 30 centimeters (11 inches) of rainfall in Shikoku and central Japan, and up to 15 centimeters (about 6 inches) for Tokyo and nearby prefectures in the next 24 hours through Saturday noon.

The storm has paralyzed traffic, delivery services and businesses across southwestern Japan.

Hundreds of domestic flights connecting southwestern cities were canceled, and Shinkansen bullet trains were suspended between Tokyo and Osaka on Friday. Postal and delivery services were mostly suspended in the southwestern regions of Kyushu and Shikoku, and supermarkets and other stores were closed in the region. Automakers including Toyota Motor Corp. and Mazda Motor Corp. closed down their factories in the affected regions through Friday.

People look at debris stuck on a bridge over a river in Ninomiyamachi, southwest of Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, following a severe weather system in the area. (Yuya Shino/Kyodo News via AP)

An empty can collector carries cans in the heavy rain due to a severe weather system Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

People walk past notices that all trains of Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen toward Nagoya or westward are canceled due to heavy rainfall caused by Typhoon Shanshan at the Tokyo Station, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

People queue to refund or change their tickets on trains of Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen toward to Nagoya or westward canceled due to heavy rainfall caused by Typhoon Shanshan at Tokyo Station Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

The gate for Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen is closed as all trains toward to Nagoya or westward were canceled due to heavy rainfall from Typhoon Shanshan at Tokyo Station, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

The gate for Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen trains is closed as all trains toward to Nagoya or westward are canceled due to heavy rainfall caused by Typhoon Shanshan at Tokyo Station, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

People wait in queue to receive a refund or to change a travel plan on the Shinkansen bullet train bound for westward areas, at Tokyo Station, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, in Tokyo, after their rides were canceled due to heavy rains caused by a tropical storm. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Travelers walk past the closed gate for Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen lines as all trains toward to Nagoya or westward are suspended due to heavy rainfall caused by Typhoon Shanshan at the Tokyo Station, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person has a lunch box outside of the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen bullet trains at Tokyo Station Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, in Tokyo, as its gate was closed due to heavy rains caused by a tropical storm. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Municipal officials stand near the Kuma river, swollen due to rainfall, in Yatsushiro, southern Japan, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, following a recent severe weather system in the area. (Hidetaka Komukai/Kyodo News via AP)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine made a new call Saturday on the West to allow it to strike deeper into Russia after a meeting between U.S. and British leaders a day earlier produced no visible shift in their policy on the use of long-range weapons.

“Russian terror begins at weapons depots, airfields, and military bases inside the Russian Federation,” Ukrainian presidential adviser Andriy Yermak said Saturday. “Permission to strike deep into Russia will speed up the solution.”

The renewed appeal came as Kyiv said Russia launched more drone and artillery attacks into Ukraine overnight.

Ukrainian officials have repeatedly called on allies to greenlight the use of Western-provided long-range weapons to strike targets deep inside Russian territory. So far, the U.S. has allowed Kyiv to use American-provided weapons only in a limited area inside Russia’s border with Ukraine.

Discussions on allowing long-range strikes were believed to be on the table when U.S. President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met in Washington on Friday but no decision was announced immediately.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been pressing the U.S. and other allies to allow his forces to use Western weapons to target air bases and launch sites farther afield as Russia has stepped up assaults on Ukraine’s electricity grid and utilities before winter.

He did not directly comment on the meeting Saturday morning, but said that more than 70 Russian drones had been launched into Ukraine overnight. The Ukrainian air force later said that 76 Russian drones had been sighted, of which 72 were shot down.

“We need to boost our air defense and long-range capabilities to protect our people,” Zelenskyy wrote on social media. “We are working on this with all of Ukraine’s partners.”

Other overnight attacks saw one person killed by Russian artillery fire as energy infrastructure was targeted in Ukraine’s Sumy region. A 54-year-old driver was killed and seven more people were hospitalized, Ukraine’s Ministry of Energy said.

A KAB aerial bomb also fell on a garage complex in the eastern city of Kharkiv, said regional Gov. Ihor Terekhov. No injuries were reported.

Meanwhile, officials in Moscow have continued to make public statements warning that long-range strikes would provoke further escalation between Russia and the West. The remarks are in line with the narrative the Kremlin has promoted since early in the war, accusing NATO countries of de-facto participation in the conflict and threatening a response.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told state news agency Tass on Saturday that the U.S. and British governments were pushing the conflict, which began with Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, toward “poorly controlled escalation.”

Biden on Friday brushed off similar comments by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who said on Thursday that allowing long-range strikes “would mean that NATO countries, the United States and European countries, are at war with Russia.”

Asked what he thought about Putin’s threat, Biden answered, “I don’t think much about Vladimir Putin.”

Russian and Ukrainian officials also announced on Saturday a prisoner swap brokered by the United Arab Emirates. It included 206 prisoners on both sides, including Russians captured in Ukraine’s incursion in the Kursk region.

The swap is the eighth of its kind since the beginning of 2024, and puts the total number of POWs exchanged at 1,994. Previous exchanges were also brokered by the UAE.

Both sides released images of soldiers traveling to meet friends and family, with Zelenskyy commenting, “Our people are home."

Elsewhere, Russia’s Defense Ministry said that 19 Ukrainian drones had been shot down over the country’s Kursk and Belgorod regions. No casualties were reported.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Ukrainians pose for a photo after being released in a prisoner exchange at an undisclosed location in Ukraine, Saturday Sept. 14, 2024. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)

A Ukrainian reacts after being released in a prisoner exchange at an undisclosed location in Ukraine, Saturday Sept. 14, 2024. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)

Ukrainians react after being released in a prisoner exchange at an undisclosed location in Ukraine, Saturday Sept. 14, 2024. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)

A Ukrainian serviceman, left, is greeted after being released in a prisoner exchange at an undisclosed location in Ukraine, Saturday Sept. 14, 2024. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)