1 dead, 2 missing after heavy rain pounds wide areas of Japan

TOKYO, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Torrential rains pounded a wide swath of Japan's Pacific coast on Friday, leaving a man dead and two people missing, local media reported on Saturday.

In Toyohashi of the central prefecture of Aichi, where the country's highest-level evacuation alert was issued, a man approximately in his 60s was confirmed dead early Saturday after being found inside a submerged car in a flooded agricultural field on Friday night, Kyodo News cited local police as saying.

At least two people have been missing in the western prefecture of Wakayama. One was swept away on a flooded road and the other was caught in a swollen river, said the report.

The rain also disrupted transportation services, including cancellations of shinkansen bullet train services in some areas as well as flights into and out of Japan's southern prefecture of Okinawa.

The severe weather conditions have been caused by the warm and moist air blowing from near Typhoon Mawar, which is passing south of the country, and a rain front hanging over Japan's main island Honshu, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).

The weather agency reported record rainfall in some areas in the six hours through 9 p.m. local time, with 291 millimeters falling in part of Tosashimizu in western Japan's Kochi Prefecture and 240 mm in Tahara in Aichi Prefecture.

The JMA said it expects the heavy rain to continue falling into Saturday over an area spanning western to northern Japan, urging vigilance against landslides and overflowing rivers.