Japanese weather officials have issued a heavy rain emergency warning for Niigata Prefecture in addition to neighboring Yamagata Prefecture. The level 5 alert is the highest. People are advised to exercise great caution.
Niigata is experiencing the heaviest rainfall in decades. It's highly likely serious disasters such as flooding and landslides have already occurred.
The heavy rain caused a wide variety of damage in Yamagata Prefecture and other areas.
Police say a bridge collapsed in the town of Iide in Yamagata. A car was reportedly swept away.
Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa is to take part in a series of foreign ministers meetings hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh.
Hayashi arrived in Phnom Penh on Wednesday. It is the first time in three years that the meetings have been held in a face-to-face style.
Japan's Meteorological Agency has issued an emergency heavy rain warning for Niigata Prefecture, next to Yamagata Prefecture, where the same warning was issued on Wednesday night.
It's a level 5 alert, the highest on the emergency scale.
Officials in parts of Yamagata Prefecture hit by torrential rain are urging residents to immediately secure their safety.
A level-five alert, which is the highest on Japan's disaster warning scale, was in effect for the towns of IIde, Takahata and Kawanishi and in Nanyo City as of 9: 30 p.m.
Japanese weather officials are urging people in the northeastern prefecture of Yamagata to immediately ensure their safety from the torrential rain.
Kurora Ryuta of the Japan Meteorological Agency spoke at a news conference after the agency issued an emergency heavy rain warning for some parts of the prefecture on Wednesday.
An emergency heavy rain warning has been issued for parts of Yamagata Prefecture in northern Japan. NHK World's meteorologist Sayaka Mori urges people in the area to ensure their safety from the torrential rain.
Extremely hot weather prevailed from western to eastern Japan on Wednesday, with the mercury reaching 39 degrees Celsius in some prefectures near Tokyo. Weather officials are urging people to continue to take extra care to avoid heatstroke.
The Meteorological Agency said scorching heat hit western and eastern Japan on Wednesday.
The operator of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says it will begin full-fledged construction on Thursday of facilities to release treated water from the crippled plant into the ocean. But it suggested the facilities would not be completed until around next summer, which would be later than when the government plans to start the release.
Reactors at Fukushima Daiichi suffered meltdowns in the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Officials in parts of Yamagata Prefecture affected by the heavy rain are urging residents to take action to secure their safety immediately.
Evacuation orders have also been issued for other parts of Yamagata as well as Aomori, Iwate, Fukushima and Niigata prefectures.
Weather officials in Japan have issued an emergency heavy rain warning for six municipalities in Yamagata Prefecture. This is a level 5 alert, the highest on Japan's disaster warning scale. The affected communities are the cities of Yonezawa, Nanyo and Nagai, and the towns of Takahata, Kawanishi and Iide. Municipalities are warning residents to immediately head to an evacuation center.
If it's dangerous to do so, people are being told to move to a safer location inside the building they are in now.
An emergency heavy rain warning has been issued for parts of Yamagata Prefecture, northern Japan. NHK World's meteorologist Sayaka Mori is calling on residents to exercise the highest caution against possible flooding and mudslides.
Japanese government sources say arrangements are underway for Prime Minister Kishida Fumio to meet US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in Japan on Friday. The meeting would be held amid heightened tensions between the United States and China over Pelosi's visit to Taiwan.
Pelosi is scheduled to arrive in Japan on Thursday and will meet senior political figures during her two-day visit.
Japan's Meteorological Agency has issued an emergency heavy rain warning for Yamagata Prefecture. This is a level 5 alert, the highest on the emergency scale.