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Typhoons, which often directly hit Japan during their peak season in August and September, are unlikely to come ashore on the mainland later this year, it has been learned.
According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), no typhoons have struck Japan's mainland in 2008 and, in the face of statistics, no more are likely to emerge later this year. There is an increased possibility that the annual number of typhoons that hit Japan's mainland will be zero for the first time in eight years.
The JMA says that on average 19.1 typhoons usually have developed around Japan by the end of September and 2.4 of them directly hit the country. As of the end of September this year, however, 17 typhoons had been formed but none of them had struck the mainland. Only two typhoons have come close to the mainland in 2008.
"There were not so many warm, rising air currents over the eastern Philippine Sea this summer," said Noriaki Watanabe, a forecaster at JMA's Climate Prediction Division. "Compared to other years, the Pacific high pressure system moved west-southwest, blocking typhoons from moving north toward Japan," he added.
Typhoons No. 13 and 15, which occurred in September, changed their paths eastward after hitting Taiwan due to strong westerlies. Although the typhoons approached Japan, they didn't come ashore on the mainland and blew out into the Pacific Ocean.
An average of 3.9 typhoons emerge in October every year, but only an average of 0.1 typhoons have directly hit the mainland. The latest a typhoon has hit the mainland in Japan is on Nov. 30, 1990, when Typhoon No. 28 hit Wakayama Prefecture. If no typhoons hit the mainland before the end of the year, it will be the fourth time that no typhoons have hit the mainland in a year since 1951 -- the year JMA started to keep statistics.
(Mainichi Japan) October 26, 2008
 Copyright 2005-2006 THE MAINICHI NEWSPAPERS. All rights reserved. Mainichi features the best news in Japan, current news in Japan, Japan news in English, Japan business news, Tokyo Japan news, and Japan entertainment news. Mainichi News is syndicated in accordance with editorial regulations: personal and noncommercial purposes.
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