Typhoon Hagibis, a dangerous storm on par with a Category 5 hurricane, is approaching Japan’s main island of Honshu after a rapid and explosive intensification in the Pacific according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.  Landfall is forecasted for this weekend and could make a direct pass over Tokyo.

However, its large size means that even without a direct hit, Tokyo and surrounding areas could still be significantly impacted with heavy rain, very strong winds, high waves and storm surge.  As of Wednesday afternoon, the Meteorological Agency described the storm as “violent” — its highest classification — adding that the storm had sustained winds of 198 kph.

I had earlier registered my Japan residency with the U.S. Tokyo Embassy and was pleased to receive an e-mail weather alert with advisory actions to take this weekend.

Also very helpful was information that the Japan Meteorological Service’s typhoon tracking information could be found in English at webpage:  http://www.jma.go.jp/en/typh/ and is also available from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center at http://www.metoc.navy.mil/jtwc/jtwc.html.

In visiting the Meteorological site I discovered that it also includes information on other weather and environmental related events as well as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

One of the questions I am frequently asked by friends in the United States is about the perception of Trump in Japan.

The following article from The Japan Times is a typical example of the commentary on Trump relative to Japan’s complex relationship with the United States.

Trump wishes Abe ‘a very happy birthday’ — on day of Putin’s birth

By Jesse Johnson [The Japan Times – October 8, 2019]

U.S. President Donald Trump wished Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, his golf buddy and close ally, a “very happy birthday” on Monday, at the start of a formal signing ceremony for his country’s recently reached trade deal with Japan.

But there was just one problem — Abe’s birthday is on Sept. 21.

Rather, Monday was the birthday of another leader often associated with Trump: Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“I want to start by wishing my very good friend, Prime Minister Abe of Japan, a very happy birthday. He’s 39 years old today,” Trump said to laughter, mispronouncing, as he often does, the Japanese leader’s name as “abby.”

Abe turned 65 late last month, and it was clear that Trump’s reference to his age was a joke. But it was not clear why he had wished Abe a happy birthday on Monday of all days, though the mercurial U.S. leader is infamous for his often jarring syntax, verbal flubs and even blatant lies.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Putin, who turned 67 on Monday, spent the weekend in southern Siberia’s mountains.

The U.S. intelligence community has repeatedly said that the Russian government — on the explicit orders of Putin — interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election with the goal of harming the campaign of Hillary Clinton, boosting the candidacy of Trump and increasing political and social discord in the United States.

Trump has denied this was the case.

When it comes to Abe, who is widely said to have the closest personal ties with Trump among all foreign leaders, the American president has had a fair number of instances where he appeared to embarrass the prime minister or leave him dumbfounded.

These have included Trump’s revelation that he had, in private, pushed Abe to nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize, and also referred to the prime minister as “president” of Japan.

Ultimately, though, the pair’s relationship has survived dire straits more menacing than mere gaffes and unfortunate disclosures, including the bilateral trade deal, which was viewed by some observers as the price Abe paid for keeping in Trump’s good graces.

Indeed, speaking Monday about Abe, the U.S. leader had nothing but praise, calling him “a very special man.”

“He’s a great gentleman and we have had tremendous success,” Trump said.

Keiko’s mom, Yuko and Mai gathered to welcome me to Japan and celebrate my 76th birthday.  Yuko treated everyone to a wonderful brunch buffet at Tokyo’s Royal Park Hotel.  I am deeply appreciative of the warm welcome and generosity.

Last night Kazu and Yumi (my brother- and sister-in-law) treated me to a late night dinner at an Izakaya or traditional Japanese sake bar. It was a form of initiation into the Tokyoite lifestyle –– all you can drink for two hours and numerous small plate orders of tasty bar food. The mixture of close family, great conversation, appealing food, ample beer and sake, and the Izakaya atmosphere was a wonderful way to end my first week as a resident of Japan.

As the evening was concluding, our waitress appeared with a surprise dessert in the form of a very special “Welcome to Japan” message from Kazu and Yumi.

I was overwhelmed with emotion and so grateful to my family and friends in Japan who have warmly embraced my decision to live here.

I have visited Japan nearly 20 times since 2001 for business and personal reasons, but last night I realized that I was being accepted as a Tokyoite. It was a touching and heart-warming sensation.

My third full day in Japan began with walking Toma at 5:30AM in what became a heavy rain.  He had woke me again at 4AM JST, same as the night before, hungry and wanting to be feed.  I gave him some dry food and struggled to go back to sleep.  It was then that I finally realized the source of the problem–Toma was suffering from jet lag!  In fact, 4AM JST equated to 5PM EST, his regular feeding time in the USA.  Despite travelling the many hours and over 6000 miles, his day by day regimen remained in accordance with his circadian rhythm.

Since I do not suffer much from jet lag, I failed to realize how Toma had been affected by his travel experience.  Doing some quick research I learned that his sleep patterns are influenced by way of daylight and nighttime hours and that his feeding routine was also consistent with a particular point of day. Thus, the disruption to that regimen explained his middle of the night behavior.

I began to modify his feeding to help with the transition and establish a routine.  He appears to have responded quickly to our new routine.  Last night, we both slept soundly until waking up at our regular 5:30AM time!