A large and powerful typhoon was heading northwest toward Japan's southern islands Monday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said, warning of heavy rains, landslides and floods.

日本气象厅(Japan Meteorological Agency)称，一个超强大型台风周一正向西北方向，朝日本南部岛屿移动。气象厅警告称预计将有强降雨、山体滑坡和洪水出现。

As of Monday afternoon, Typhoon Neoguri was moving up the Pacific Ocean toward Okinawa at a speed of 25 kilometers an hour (16 miles an hour) with winds of up to 180 kph and gusts as strong as 252 kph, the agency said.

日本气象厅称，截至周一下午，台风“浣熊”(Neoguri)正在太平洋上以每小时25公里（合每小时16英里）的速度向冲绳县移动，最大风速可达每小时180公里，瞬时极大风速可达每小时252公里。

'It would be one of the largest typhoons to hit Japan in July,' said Satoshi Ebihara, the head of the agency's weather forecast division, at a news conference.

日本气象厅天气预报部门的负责人Satoshi Ebihara在新闻发布会上称，这可能是7月份日本遭遇的最强台风之一。

The season's eighth typhoon is expected to approach Okinawa's Miyako Island with full force by Tuesday morning with gusts of up to 270 kph. With the typhoon's center expected to sweep the western edge of Okinawa, the agency said it is considering issuing a special warning to the prefecture later Monday.

“浣熊”是本季的第八个台风，预计周二早间前将全力逼近冲绳县的宫古岛，瞬时极大风速可达每小时270公里。预计台风中心将横扫冲绳县西缘，气象厅称正在考虑于周一晚些时候向该县发布特别警报。

'We issue special warnings when we anticipate immense damage of a scale only seen every few decades,' said an agency official.

气象厅的一位官员称，只有在预计会遭遇几十年不遇的大规模破坏时，气象厅才会发布特别警报。

It would be the first time for the agency to issues a special warning for a typhoon since the current warning system was introduced last August.

这将是当前的预警系统自去年8月推出以来首次发布台风特别预警。

Okinawa is home to a large U.S. military presence, and is frequently in the path of typhoons. The agency said the island's infrastructure was generally more resilient to storms compared with other areas in Japan.

冲绳驻有大量美军，并经常有台风过境。该机构说，冲绳的基础设施总体上比日本其他地区更能抵御风暴。

To respond to the typhoon, State minister in charge of disaster management Keiji Furuya canceled a trip to the U.S. that was to begin Tuesday. The crisis management center at the prime minister's office also set up a special office to share information among ministries.

为了应对台风，日本负责防灾的担当大臣古屋圭司(Keiji Furuya)取消了原定于周二开始的访美之行。日本首相办公室的危机管理中心也设立了一个在政府部长间共享信息的特别办公室。

'I ask citizens to pay careful attention to the latest weather information and typhoon warnings,' the government's main spokesman, Yoshihide Suga, told reporters Monday, urging people to prepare to evacuate if necessary.

日本内阁官房长官菅义伟(Yoshihide Suga)周一对记者们说，他请求民众密切注意最新的气象信息和台风警报。他敦促民众在必要的情况下疏散。

After passing Okinawa, the typhoon is expected to turn eastward Wednesday morning toward Kagoshima on Japan's southernmost main island of Kyushu, bringing heavy rains and winds. Kyushu has already been pummeled by rain since Sunday, prompting the meteorological agency to issue landslide warnings in some areas.

经过冲绳后，台风预计将于周三早间转而向东，奔向日本最南部主要岛屿九州的鹿儿岛，带来大雨和狂风。九州自周日以来一直大雨倾盆，促使气象机构针对一些地区发布山体滑坡预警。

The U.S. Joint Typhoon Warning Center has designated Neoguri a 'supertyphoon,' a category it uses for typhoons with winds over 240 kph.

美国联合台风预警中心(U.S. Joint Typhoon Warning Center)已经将“浣熊”定为“超强台风”，即风速超过每小时240公里的台风。