Record-breaking rain has hit Japan in the past few days, with an all-time high soaking the country in the first few days of July. In total from Monday, July 1 to Wednesday, July 3 21.42 inches (554.0 mm) fell in Nichinan City in Miyazaki Prefecture. This broke the previous all-time three-day record of 18.01 inches (457.5 mm) which fell from October 30, 2017, to November 1, 2017.
According to Accuweather, on Wednesday, July 3 several locations in Kagoshima Prefecture registered the most rain ever to pour down in one day.
Among these was Kanoya, where 18.60 inches (472.5 mm) exceeded the previous all-time wettest calendar day of 15.87 inches (403 mm) from September 6, 2005.
Rainfall from Monday to Wednesday at Kanoya totalled 25.26 inches (641.5 mm), shattering the July three-day record of 20.08 inches (510 mm) from July 7, 1993.
This week there will be drier weather on Tuesday, but more widespread rain will fall on southern Japan from Wednesday onwards.
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The heaviest of this is predicted to fall from Wednesday into Thursday, impacting Shikoku, Kyushu and southern Honshu.
Travel disruptions could occur in Nagasaki, Kochi and Osaka due to flooding.
Following the torrential rainfall last week, two women died according to Xinhua News Agency, in separate incidents which saw homes buried by mudslides in Kagoshima Prefecture.
Flooding and mudslides across southern Japan saw nearly 80 homes damaged and a further 1,700 were left without power.
There were four people reported to have sustained injuries.
This week’s rain is not predicted to be as heavy as last week’s, however, isolated areas could still receive 100-200 mm (4-8 inches) of rain within a short period of time.
This amount could cause travel delays and also flash flooding and increase the risk of mudslides in areas already saturated by last week’s heavy rain.
The steady to heavy rainfall could move across to central Honshu on Friday, affecting the Greater Tokyo Area.
On this day morning, commuters could see delays, with rainfall of 13-25 mm (0.50-1.00 inch).
It is currently rain season for Japan, which is known as tsuyu which means “plum rain”, as it coincides with the season of plums ripening.
Across most of Japan, the rainy season begins at the start of June and lasts until mid-July.
Only Japan’s northernmost main island of Hokkaido and the Ogasawara Islands are not as affected by the rainy season.