Tropical Storm Chan-hom Weakens After Hitting Tokyo Area

Business in the greater Tokyo area was nearly back to normal on Wednesday after Tropical Storm Chan-hom weakened to a depression and moved away from Japan, with transportation and power service largely restored.

Chan-hom made landfall in southern Ibaraki prefecture late Tuesday, marking the first time a tropical storm or typhoon has come ashore there since Japan's meteorological agency began keeping records in 1951. By late Wednesday morning, the system was off the northern coast of Kyoto and moving away from the country, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The storm slightly injured seven people, including two men in Iwate prefecture, four women in Ibaraki prefecture and one man in neighboring Tochigi prefecture, officials said.

More than 22,000 homes lost power late Tuesday across Ibaraki, Tochigi and Saitama prefectures, according to TEPCO Power Grid. By Wednesday afternoon, that number had fallen to just over 1,000 homes.

In Tokyo, the storm knocked down trees at several locations, including in the upscale Omotesando shopping district, though no injuries were reported there, according to NHK public television. Commuter trains and flights were running normally in the capital by Wednesday, but the meteorological agency warned of heavy rain and thunder in northern and western Japan through the day.

The storm disrupted travel during Japan's "bon" Buddhist holiday week honoring ancestral spirits. About 60 flights to and from Tokyo's Haneda airport were canceled Tuesday, and the popular Oarai beach in Ibaraki was closed.

Chan-hom arrived just days after Typhoon Dolphin caused widespread disruption in southern Japan, paralyzing traffic and forcing hundreds into shelters. After weakening to a tropical storm, Dolphin went on to kill 10 people in the Philippines and cause flooding in China that forced hundreds of thousands to relocate.