Tokyo  - Typhoon Melor struck Japan early Thursday with winds of 140 kilometres per hour, injuring residents and prompting high speed train shut-downs.

Meteorologists said Melor struck on the main island of Honshu, where highway traffic was also severely hampered by strong gusts of wind.

Officials warned people of continuing gales and heavy rainfall which could cause flooding, storm surges and large waves. Melor was moving in a north-east direction at about 45 kilometres an hour.

The southern islands of Okinawa and Kyushu were hit Wednesday with heavy rain and high waves as the storm moved in from the south-west.

Melor is the 18th typhoon of the season. The last typhoon to make landfall in Japan killed three people, in September 2007. (dpa)