ABE CUTS SHORT TRIP AS DEADLY FLOODING HITS HOME
JAPANESE Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is visiting areas of southwest Japan hard-hit by floods after he cut short his trip in Europe.
Mr Abe arrived on Japan’s southernmost main island of Kyushu yesterday morning. He will go to the cities of Hita in Oita prefecture and Asakura and Toho in Fukuoka prefecture where heavy rains from a typhoon caused widespread flooding and landslides.
The Fire and Disaster Management Agency has confirmed 25 deaths so far, 22 in Fukuoka and three in Oita. One person remains missing.
The disaster agency says about 14,000 people, mostly in Fukuoka, are still staying in shelters. The rains from Typhoon Nanmadol ravaged parts of the southern island of Kyushu, wrecking homes, roads and rice terraces.
Mr Abe had been visiting European leaders after attending the G-20 summit in Germany. He cancelled a visit to Estonia, the last leg of his European trip, and returned to Japan one day earlier than planned.