TOKYO – Japan's weather agency on Monday issued its highest-level alert for landslides for the northern part of the Izu Island chain, as a large and powerful typhoon moves toward the country's eastern Pacific coast.

Torrential rain lashed the Izu Islands and the Kanto region in eastern Japan on Monday, prompting the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) to issue a Level 5 emergency warning for landslides for Oshima Town in the island chain, which is located about 100 km from Tokyo.

The weather agency said it is extremely likely that landslides had already occurred in the area and urged residents to remain on maximum vigilance and take immediate action to ensure their safety, including moving as far away as possible from cliffs and streams, or to higher floors of buildings if going to designated evacuation sites is considered too dangerous.

As of 2 pm local time, Typhoon Dujuan, located about 40 km northwest of Hachijo Island in the Izu Island chain, was moving northeast at a speed of 25 km per hour. It had a central atmospheric pressure of 960 hectopascals, packing maximum gusts of 198 kph, according to the JMA.

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The year's 25th typhoon is expected to pass near the Boso Peninsula in Chiba prefecture, east of Tokyo, from the evening to late Monday.

In the 24 hours through noon Tuesday, the weather agency forecast up to 250 mm of rain in the Tokai region in central Japan, the Kanto region and the Izu Islands, and up to 150 mm in the Tohoku region in northeastern Japan.

The typhoon has disrupted transportation, forcing the closure of parts of highways, and may also cause delays and cancellations of bullet train services connecting Tokyo and western Japan on Monday afternoon.