Radio New Zealand

Typhoon Roke has been wreaking damage as it makes its way across Japan, causing at least six deaths, with many others reported missing.

The storm, which brought winds of up to 162km/h, passed near the capital, Tokyo, and the damaged nuclear power plant at Fukushima.

A toppled tree that fell on a taxi in Tokyo as Typhoon Roke hit Japan.

AFP

There had been worries that heavy rain could force radioactive water from the plant - crippled by the 11 March earthquake and tsunami - into the sea.

Plant owner Tokyo Electric Power Co says the storm damaged security cameras set up to monitor the plant but does not appear to have caused any water to overflow.

Roke, the second typhoon to hit Japan this month, stranded thousands of Tokyo commuters when train services were suspended, forced the cancellation of more than 200 domestic flights, and left at least 200,000 households in central Japan without electricity late on Wednesday.

According to the AP news agency, reported by the BBC, it now appears to be losing strength.

Earlier in September, Typhoon Talas hit western Japan and left about 100 people dead or missing. Two to four typhoons make landfall each year in the country.