Almost 800,000 people across three Japanese cities have been ordered to evacuate amid warnings of landslides and floods brought by heavy rain.
Kagoshima city, Kirishima and Aira, in Kagoshima prefecture on Kyushu island, urged their residents to move to safety immediately.
One elderly woman in Kagoshima city died after a mudslide hit her home.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has told residents of the cities to "take steps to protect their lives".
About 310,000 residents in the neighbouring Miyazaki prefecture have also been advised to evacuate.
Weather officials say 1,000mm (39in) of rain has fallen on Kyushu island since Friday.
Last July about 200 people died in western Japan in the country's worst flooding disaster in decades.
It was the highest death toll caused by rainfall in Japan since 1982.
