A powerful typhoon has hit the Japanese mainland, sparking the evacuation of thousands a day after it tore across southern Okinawa island, where local media said it left one dead and 140 injured.

Packing winds of up to 180 kilometres per hour, the typhoon reached central Aichi prefecture on Sunday night and was moving up the main island of Honshu, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

Authorities in the central city of Nagoya directed 57,000 people living in 21,000 homes to evacuate due to the fear of flooding caused by rising river levels in the city.

A further 11,000 were told to evacuate in the city of Ishinomaki in the country's north-east.

Typhoon Jelawat is forecast to churn north-eastwards towards Tokyo over the next 24 hours and bring torrential rain and towering waves up to 10 metres high.

More than 500 flights, mainly in western Japan, were cancelled on Sunday and some Shinkansen bullet train services across the country have been suspended.

AFP