Typhoon Fitow slammed into the Tokyo region shortly before 2:30 am (1730 GMT), packing strong winds that also felled trees, smashed windows and swept people off their feet.

The storm hit Kanagawa prefecture, just south of the capital, in the small hours of Friday and was continuing to move slowly north with winds of up to 126 kilometres (78 miles) an hour near its centre, the meteorological agency said.

Its intensity was just a notch below that of Typhoon Tokage, Japan's deadliest storm in a quarter century that killed dozens in October 2004.

A 76-year-old man was killed in Karuicawa, a resort town north of Tokyo, when he was hit by a falling tree, an official said.

"The man was clearing off fallen trees at an acquaintance's house when another tree was felled and hit him hard on the head," said municipal crisis-management official Nobuhiko Kobayashi.

More than 200 flights were cancelled at Tokyo's Haneda airport on Friday, Jiji Press news agency said.

Signboards were seen flying on the streets of Tokyo as Fitow, named after a flower found in Micronesia, swept past the capital northwards.

More than 1,200 residents were evacuated from a Tokyo area near the swollen Tamagawa River as a precaution. Scores of fire-fighters were sandbagging the banks of the river as anxious residents looked on.

Public broadcaster NHK said the typhoon injured 43 people and flooded hundreds of houses in several prefectures by early Friday.

Seven passengers were injured by shattered glass as violent gusts broke a window of a commuter train in Chiba prefecture, east of Tokyo, late Thursday.

Six children were also slightly injured when nine windows smashed at a hotel in Nikko, a spa resort north of Tokyo.

"We are so surprised. Children were scared," a hotel official told NHK.

In Shizuoka prefecture southwest of Tokyo, two men suffered slight injuries when their car was hit by a tidal wave that broke the windshield, a local official said.

Typhoons hit Japan in July and August, killing several people and injuring dozens.

related report
Strong typhoon crashes into Tokyo area, one dead
A strong typhoon crashed into the Tokyo region on Friday, bringing downpours and violent gusts that killed one person, injured dozens more and disrupted hundreds of flights, officials and reports said.

Packing violent winds that were sweeping some people off their feet, Typhoon Fitow slammed into Kanagawa prefecture, just south of the capital, shortly before 2:30 am (1730 GMT).

The typhoon, whose winds were 121 kilometres (75 miles) an hour near its centre, was forecast to slowly work its way across the Tokyo region in the early hours of Friday.

Its power was just a notch below Typhoon Tokage, Japan's deadliest typhoon in a quarter century that killed dozens of people in October 2004.

Fitow, is named after a flower found in Micronesia, was so strong that lost umbrellas were flying on the streets of Tokyo, where people jostled to get taxis home fearing disruption of public transportation.

Japanese media said one man in his 70s died in Nagano prefecture north of Tokyo as he went outside to clear trees and was struck by another tree.

Kyodo News in a tally said at least 31 other people were injured including a 93-year-old woman who broke both her legs after being knocked off her feet by strong winds.

In Chiba prefecture, east of Tokyo, a window glass on the Sobu line train broke due to the strong wind and injured seven passengers, public broadcaster NHK said.

In Shizuoka prefecture southwest of Tokyo, two men in a car suffered slight injuries when their car was hit by a tidal wave that broke the windshield, a local official said.

Another 77-year-old man was slightly hurt when a strong wind pushed him over, he said.

Television footage showed towering waves along the Pacific coast and swollen rivers in other parts of mainland Japan.

Fitow was moving north at the speed of 20 kilometres an hour.

The strong wind cut off some electric lines, causing blackouts to some 25,000 household in central Japan, while regional authorities urged dozens of households in central Yamanashi and Gunma prefectures to evacuate, NHK said.

At Tokyo's Haneda airport, at least 174 flights, almost all scheduled to take off or land in the evening, were cancelled, the broadcaster said.

Railway services were partially suspended in provinces north of Tokyo due to rain, while coastal expressways were also partially closed due to high waves.

"Given the slow speed of the typhoon, we have to brace ourselves for heavy rainfall and strong winds that last for a long time," which increases chances of landslides and flooding, an agency official said.

Typhoons hit Japan in July and August, killing several people and injuring dozens.