Typhoon hits Korean Peninsula, disrupts flights in Japan

A typhoon brought heavy rain and disrupted both air and rail travel in southwestern and western Japan on Saturday, after earlier battering South Korea, according to the national weather agency and Japanese transportation companies.

As Typhoon Kong-rey traveled north over Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan's four main islands, many flights to and from the region were cancelled, affecting more than 5,000 people, Japan Airlines Co. and All Nippon Airways Co. said.

Some bullet train services were also cancelled or suspended in central and western Japan.

A 68-year-old man died in Kanda, Fukuoka Prefecture, after being struck by wind-blown debris, according to police.

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As of 9 p.m. Saturday, the season's No. 25 typhoon was moving northeast across the Sea of Japan with an atmospheric pressure of 980 hectopascals and winds of up to 144 km per hour, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

Although the typhoon is expected to be downgraded early Sunday to an extratropical cyclone, the agency warned of strong winds and high tides as it approaches northern and northeastern Japan on Sunday morning.