At least two people have been killed after days of torrential rain triggered floods and landslides in western Japan, officials say.

One man has died in Kyoto prefecture after he was swept away by a flooded river while trying to build a sandbag barrier.

In nearby Ishikawa prefecture, the body of a 74-year-old woman was pulled from her house after a landslide, the national broadcaster NHK said.

Fukuchiyama City in Kyoto prefecture experienced 303 millimetres (12 inches) of rainfall during the 24 hours to early Sunday, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

The record rainfall prompted authorities to issue an advisory to the city's 80,860 residents to leave their homes.

The municipality issued the evacuation advisory - a recommendation that is different from an order to evacuate - as major parts of the city were submerged by waist-high water.

The heavy rain, which began on Friday, is expected to continue through Monday in western to central Japan.

A landslide at Tamba city in Hyogo prefecture near Kyoto destroyed a house where a 73-year-old female resident was rescued on Sunday.

A search was continuing for her 79-year-old husband, NHK said.

Police in the central prefecture of Gifu found two of three climbers who had been swept away by a flooded river in the Hida Mountains, the Yomiuri Shimbun said.

Their condition was not immediately known.

AFP