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STORY: More than 5 million people have been told to evacuate from their homes as Typhoon Shanshan lashed southwest Japan on Thursday (August 29).

After hovering over the southerly Kyushu island for the next few days, the storm is expected to approach Tokyo around the weekend, the country's weather agency said.

Strong winds and heavy rain knocked out power and forced major factories to close.

Authorities warned Shanshan could be one of the strongest ever storms to hit the region, as they assessed the death toll and reported scores left injured.

Toyota suspended operations in all of its domestic plants due to the storm, while Nissan, Honda and chipmakers Renesas and Tokyo Electron also temporarily halted production at some factories.

The typhoon produced gusts of up to 112 mph, according to the weather agency.

Around 230,000 households in seven prefectures were without power in the afternoon, according to Kyushu Electric Power Co.

However, the company said there was no impact at its Sendai Nuclear Power Plant in Satsumasendai city, where the storm made landfall earlier on Thursday.

Airlines announced cancelations of nearly 800 flights.

Train services have been suspended in many areas of Kyushu, while hundreds of bus and ferry services have also been halted, according to the transport ministry.

Typhoon Shanshan is the latest harsh weather system to hit Japan, following Typhoon Ampil, which also led to blackouts and evacuations, earlier this month.