Thousands of residents in western Japan have been ordered to evacuate as torrential rain lashes the region.

Forecasters on Sunday warned of mudslides, flooding and swollen rivers on the island of Kyushu and the Chugoku region, as Typhoon Danas, which was moving over the Korean Peninsula, dropped record-breaking rain on western Japan.

About 300 millimetres of rain had been dumped on the cities of Tosu and Kurume on Kyushu for 12 hours until 10am (1100 AEST), according to the Meteorological Agency.

Authorities issued an evacuation order to tens of thousands of residents in the prefectures of Fukuoka and Hiroshima.

As of 9am, the eye of the storm was over the Korean Peninsula, travelling north-east at 30km/h with maximum sustained winds of 65 km/h and gusts of 90 km/h, the agency said.

Rainfall of up to 200 millimetres was forecast for the northern Kyushu and up to 150 millimetres for the Chugoku region and the south-western island of Shikoku by Monday noon, according to the agency.

A year ago, torrential rains in western Japan caused floods and landslides, killing more than 220 people, the largest number of weather-related deaths in three decades.