‘Super Typhoon’ Threatens Japan, Japanese Elections · Global Voices
Nevin Thompson

The location of Typhoon 21, a “super typhoon”, as of Thursday evening, October 19. Screencap from official ANN YouTube Channel.
As Japan heads to the polls this weekend to vote in a general election, the hashtag #超大型台風 (“super typhoon”) is trending on Twitter. After a year in which unrelenting torrential rains have left dozens dead across the country, Japan is bracing for a powerful late-season typhoon and there are fears the election on Sunday, October 22 will be disrupted.
気象庁「早く期日前投票に行け！超大型台風が来るぞ！」 https://t.co/a927kxvWYr pic.twitter.com/Uyb8lBPTcf
— A-Zアンテナ (@AZ07988830) October 21, 2017
Japan Meteorological Agency: Make sure you vote early! A super typhoon is approaching!
http://www.sankei.com/politics/news/171020/plt1710200056-n1.html
The super typhoon is the 21st in the 2017 season as recorded by the Japan Meteorological Agency, and is known as Typhoon Lan in English-language media. By early in the morning on Saturday, October 21, the typhoon was making its way north from the Philippine Sea towards the Japanese archipelago.
A Twitter user who goes by the handle “Solo Trip to Korea” (@韓国ひとり旅) posted an updated image of the latest storm track, and how the menacing typhoon has affected their plans:
来週の週明けに訪韓しようと思っていたら超大型台風の来襲だと。
こりゃあいかんと思いキャンセルし、改めて数日後の予約が完了しました。 pic.twitter.com/5lIED6SkuA
— 韓国ひとり旅 (@momotaro18661) October 21, 2017
I was thinking about visiting South Korea next when a super typhoon reared its ugly head. “This is gonna be bad,” I thought and canceled my plans, rebooking for several days later.
According to forecasts, the typhoon should make landfall somewhere to the southwest of Tokyo, and then proceed northward along the Pacific coastline.
“Super-typhoon” itself is a term used for typhoons that reach maximum sustained 65 m/s (150 mph), and is the equivalent of a strong Saffir-Simpson category 4 or category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic.
In September, two category 5 hurricanes, Irma and Maria struck Dominica, St. Martin, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and other territories in the Caribbean, causing significant damage and devastation. There are fears the same devastation may be in store for Japan.
A graphic first published by the Okinawa Times has been shared a number of times on Twitter, and explains just how big a super typhoon is—the storm has the potential to cover Japan from one end to the other:
【朗報】台風21号、2年ぶりの『超大型』へと成長。超大型台風の上陸は6年ぶりの快挙。
台風情報＝気象庁予報部（位置）　 https://t.co/UwIF2Zpx51 pic.twitter.com/VBh8GY2jhm
— 台風ナマズんJC2号? (@NAMAZUrx) October 20, 2017
Left image: “Large typhoon – radius of 500 km”
Right image: “Super typhoon – radius of 800 km”
Typhoon 21 is the first “super typhoon” to appear in two years. It has been six years since the last super typhoon made landfall.
While the main impact from the typhoon is expected on Monday, October 23, there are fears the massive storm will already affect voter turnout on Sunday's election.
Miserable weather expected across much of Japan for Election Day, possibly depressing vote even further.
— SNA Japan (@ShingetsuNews) October 21, 2017
In this election, Japan's fledgling opposition parties need to generate all of the voter turnout they can get. There are two entirely new opposition parties contesting the election on Sunday.
One of the parties, the progressive, left-leaning Japan Constitutional Democracy Party, which has rocketed to second-place in the polls, has made a plea for potential supporters to get out and vote while they still can:
お早めの投票をお願いします！お気をつけてお出かけください。#立憲民主党
気象庁が異例呼びかけ「事前に投票を」　超大型台風接近：朝日新聞デジタル https://t.co/96FAQObZzR
— 立憲民主党 (@CDP2017) October 21, 2017
We are asking everyone to get out and vote early. And please be careful on your way to the polls. #Constitutional_Democracy_Party
Article: Japan Meteorological Agency issues extraordinary alert: “vote early” as super typhoon approaches.