Japan typhoon weakens but train, flight disruptions continue

    TOKYO, Aug. 30 Kyodo - Disruptions of train services and flights continued across a wide area of Japan on Friday due to a typhoon that has been weakening but remains over the southwestern main island of Kyushu.

    JR Kyushu will suspend most of its shinkansen bullet trains on the island throughout Friday, while the high-speed train service will be limited in many sections between Hakata, northern Kyushu, and Tokyo via Shin-Osaka, the operators said.

    All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines said they will cancel or reschedule many flights to and from airports in the southwestern and western regions Friday, and the irregular scheduling will affect the airlines into the weekend.

    The Japan Meteorological Agency called Typhoon Shanshan "very powerful" before it made landfall in Kyushu on Thursday morning, but dropped the descriptive phrase in the afternoon. It also downgraded a rare special typhoon warning issued for most parts of Kagoshima Prefecture.

    At 5 a.m. Friday, the storm was located near Yufu, Oita Prefecture, and was moving slowly northeast with winds of up to 126 kilometers per hour, the agency said, adding that its atmospheric pressure at the center was 992 hectopascals.

    JR Central will cancel all Tokaido Shinkansen trains between Mishima and Nagoya throughout Friday, the company said, with notification to come later Friday if it can resume the high-speed train service in the remaining sections -- between Nagoya and Shin-Osaka, and Tokyo and Mishima.

    All bullet trains will be suspended between Hakata and Hiroshima on Friday, JR West said, adding it will also halt many high-speed trains between Hiroshima and Shin-Osaka.

==Kyodo