Season’s first typhoon expected to hit Okinawa on May 29

The first typhoon of the season has formed near the Philippines and is inching northward toward Japan with a central pressure of 1002 hectopascals.

It is expected to approach the main island of Okinawa Prefecture around May 29 and hit mainland Japan proper the following day.

The Japan Meteorological Agency, citing records dating back to 1951, said it is the seventh typhoon after one in 1984 to arrive so late in the season.