More than 100 flights were cancelled and evacuation warnings issued for thousands of people as a powerful typhoon approached Japan's northeast on Tuesday, a region devastated by a massive earthquake and tsunami five years ago.

Typhoon Lionrock was expected to make landfall in the northeast Tohoku region later on Tuesday, with sustained winds of 120 km per hour and gusts up to 180 km/h as it moved north from the Pacific Ocean, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).

It will be the third typhoon to hit Japan in just over a week.

Toyota said production would be suspended on Tuesday at two of its factories in the typhoon's path due to concerns that heavy rain and strong wind would affect road conditions and delay parts deliveries.

(Sydney Morning Herald)