TOKYO - Typhoon Phanfone, packing 162 kilometre per hour (101 mph) winds, was heading towards Japan's capital Friday, already battering islands south of Tokyo with wind and rain, an official said.

As of 6:00 am (2100 GMT), the 13th typhoon of the season was 320 kilometres south of the populated Chichijima island, part of the Ogasawara Islands that are technically part of Tokyo despite being some 1,000 kilometres south of the hub.

Phanfone a category 4 typhoon on the Saffir-Simpson Scale was heading northwest at 25 kilometres per hour and was expected to be south of Tokyo by Monday.

Copyright 2002 AFP & Weatheronline