Torrential rains brought by a tropical storm are pounding wide areas of Japan's Pacific coast, raising the risk of disasters in some areas. At least two people are missing.

Some local authorities in the country's western and central regions issued the maximum level-5 alert on Friday, indicating that lives are at risk and evacuating could be dangerous.

The downpours are being pushed in by Tropical Storm Mawar.

Aichi Prefecture received about 100 millimeters of rain in just one hour, flooding roads and leaving cars stranded.

The Tokyo metropolitan area was hit by late afternoon. The rains flooded roads, and strong winds knocked down trees.

Japan Railway suspended operations on the Tokaido Shinkansen bullet train between Tokyo and Nagoya stations on Friday. And more than 270 flights were cancelled nationwide.