Heavy rain and wind, due to a powerful typhoon neared, lashed southern Japan today. It forced to cancel hundreds of flights and disrupted rail services. The Japan Meteorological Agency said Typhoon 'Lan' was situated at east of Okinawa this morning and moving northeast at 40 kilometres per hour.<br/><br/> It was expected to near the Japanese capital tomorrow morning before veering east into the Northern Pacific. The agency issued warnings for heavy rain and flooding in the Pacific side of Japan including the Tokyo metropolitan areas. Media reported the grounding of flights and interruption of rail services in southern and western parts of the country.<br/><br/>