4 dead, thousands forced to evacuate as torrential rain batters eastern Japan; PM Takaichi pledges support

Four people have died, and another remains unresponsive after torrential rain severely battered eastern Japan from Thursday into early Friday, triggering widespread flooding and high-level emergency alerts across the region, Kyodo News reported. According to reports by Kyodo News, the Japan Meteorological Agency briefly issued a Level 5 warning, the highest disaster alert level on its scale, covering more than one-third of the municipalities in Chiba Prefecture near Tokyo. All emergency warnings were downgraded Friday morning. Severe road flooding inundated communities across Chiba Prefecture, prompting municipal authorities in cities includ…