Local authorities have suspended bus traffic on Okinawa Island and closed several sections of federal highways, the newspaper Ryukyu Shimpo reported.
The typhoon has reportedly forced the cancellation of 283 flights, mainly to and from Okinawa.
Typhoon Tapah is now south of Okinawa and is expected to pass over the Sea of Japan to the northeast, affecting the western coast of Japan and the Korean Peninsula. The pressure in the centre of the typhoon is now 970 hectopascals. The maximum speed is 35 metres per second, with wind gusts reaching up to 50 metres per second.