At least six people have died after torrential rains lashed eastern Japan from Thursday into early Friday, triggering widespread flooding, local media reported. Japan's weather agency issued its highest Level 5 heavy rain warning for more than one-third of the municipalities in Chiba Prefecture, near Tokyo, as authorities remained on alert amid worsening weather conditions.A man seen on a submerged road in Ichikawa was confirmed dead. A woman (66) died after she was trapped in a car on a flooded road in Sakura, the prefectural government said, Japan-based Kyodo News reported.

Police said a man was confirmed dead after he was found unresponsive on a flooded road in Chiba Prefecture, while a man found collapsed in Sakura had also died, according to the prefectural government's statement on Friday. Later, two people were confirmed dead, Chiba prefectural police said. Transportation was disrupted due to rains in Chiba and several parts of Tokyo, resulting in commuters being stranded on roads, according to the report. About 1,800 people gathered in a government building in the prefecture, which was made available for stranded commuters.