Source: Channel News Asia
Date: 22nd September 2026 

Hundreds of flights have been cancelled as severe rainfall, flooding and strong winds affect eastern Japan, while maritime conditions and inland transport disruption create additional challenges across the Tokyo Bay logistics region.

Typhoon Dujuan is moving away from eastern Japan after bringing intense rainfall, strong winds and flooding across the Kanto region, disrupting air travel and transport networks around Tokyo.

As of the morning of September 22, the typhoon was moving northeast over waters east of Japan at around 45 km/h, with maximum sustained winds of approximately 126 km/h. While mainland Japan had moved out of the storm’s strong-wind zone, authorities continued to warn of landslide risks following exceptionally heavy rainfall.

The storm has already caused substantial aviation disruption. At least 275 flights were cancelled on Monday, including 135 services from one major Japanese airline and 140 from another, as conditions deteriorated around Tokyo.

For air cargo, widespread passenger flight cancellations can also reduce available belly-hold capacity and create rebooking requirements, particularly for time-sensitive shipments. However, the extent of cargo-specific disruption has not yet been quantified.

Disruption extends beyond airports. The impact is not limited to aviation.

Dujuan brought high seas and strong winds along Japan’s eastern Pacific coast as it passed close to the Kanto region, which includes the major Tokyo Bay port and logistics network.

While there is currently no evidence of a blanket shutdown of the major container terminals at Tokyo and Yokohama, weather conditions have affected maritime activities in the wider region. The more immediate logistics concern is the ability to move cargo to and from gateways as surrounding transport infrastructure recovers.

Heavy rainfall forced a series of road closures across Chiba and other parts of the Kanto region on September 21. By September 22, authorities had begun reopening affected sections, including parts of National Routes 16 and 127 and the Seisho Bypass, while road-clearance operations continued in Chiba to restore access for emergency traffic.

Rail services were also disrupted during the storm, adding another constraint to passenger and inland transport movements.

What This Means

• The main logistics risk is now shifting from the typhoon’s immediate impact to operational recovery.
• Even where ports and airports remain open or resume normal operations, delayed flights, road closures, flooding and disrupted inland connections can affect cargo pickup and delivery schedules.
• Businesses with shipments moving through the Tokyo region should therefore monitor flight schedules, vessel movements, terminal operations and inland transport availability rather than relying solely on whether an individual port or airport is officially open.
• Additional lead time may also be required as delayed cargo is repositioned and transport networks work through any accumulated backlog.

Typhoon Dujuan demonstrates why severe weather disruption needs to be assessed across the entire logistics network.

An airport or container terminal can remain operational while cargo movement is still affected by inaccessible roads, suspended rail services, rough maritime conditions or reduced transport capacity.

As weather conditions improve around Tokyo, attention will increasingly turn to how quickly air, sea and inland transport connections can return to normal.

For shippers, visibility across each stage of the journey, rather than the status of a single gateway, remains essential when managing cargo through weather-related disruption.