Japan typhoon weakens but train, flight disruptions continue

Disruptions of train services and flights continued across a wide area of Japan on Friday due to a typhoon that has been weakening but remains over the southwestern main island of Kyushu. JR Kyushu will suspend most of its shinkansen bullet trains on the island throughout Friday, while the high-speed train service will be limited in many sections between Hakata, northern Kyushu, and Tokyo via Shin-Osaka, the operators said. All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines said they will cancel or reschedule many flights to and from airports in the southwestern and western regions Friday, and the irregular scheduling will affect the airlines into the weekend. The Japan Meteorological Agency called Typhoon Shanshan "very powerful" before it made landfall in Kyushu on Thursday morning, but dropped the descriptive phrase in the afternoon. It also downgraded a rare special typhoon warning issued for most parts of Kagoshima prefecture.<br/>