Typhoon Halong blamed for 10 deaths and dozens of injuries in Japan

As many as 10 people died and dozens were injured as Typhoon Halong slammed into the Japanese archipelago over the weekend, reports said yesterday.

The storm was moving over the Sea of Japan (East Sea), after making landfall on the largest and most populous island of Honshu, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. The outer bands of the storm were continuing to lash northern Japan with heavy rain as officials warned of landslides, floods and tornadoes.

The agency downgraded the typhoon to a tropical storm as it headed towards the far eastern coast of Russia.

The storm, as well as heavy rain last week, killed two people and injured 86 across Japan, public broadcaster NHK reported.

But the Nikkei newspaper said as many as 10 deaths were linked to the storm. The body of an Iranian man was found in Ibaraki, northeast of Tokyo, while two Japanese women died in the country's west, the Nikkei said.

The National Police Agency declined to confirm the number of deaths, saying it had yet to compile a nationwide total.