Japan braces for storm:

Japan braced on Tuesday for a tropical storm set to dump heavy rains on western parts of the country, threatening to snarl road, rail and air links during the busy summer holidays.

Tropical storm Krosa, a Khmer word meaning crane, was swirling in the Pacific, south of Japan, and expected to make landfall near the city of Hiroshima from Wednesday, the weather agency said.

Though Krosa is unlikely to strengthen into a typhoon, its broad front meant it could affect a large swathe of Japan, dumping up to 1,000 mm (39 inches) in some parts of the west.

“A very large part of western and eastern Japan could face heavy rains, high winds and high tides,” Ryuta Kurora, a spokesman for the Japan Meteorological Agency, told a news conference.

He urged authorities to review evacuation plans in areas that could be hit by the storm. (RTRS)