It was moving north-northeast at about 20 kph in the East China Sea, the agency said. Weather reports forecast rain for most of western and central Japan over the weekend due to the effects of the typhoon.

Two domestic flights from Tokyo's Haneda airport to Okinawan islands in the south were canceled on Friday because of the typhoon, airport authorities said.

Disaster officials in the Philippines said the typhoon left at least 63 people dead, mostly due to drownings and landslides. At least one person died of electrocution, while another was bitten by a snake.

The casualty figure is expected to rise because severalmountain villages in the northern Philippines remain isolated. President Joseph Estrada flew today to the Cagayan valley region, one of the hardest-hit areas, to personally inspect the typhoon's damage.

At least 103,000 people were forced to flee their homes in the Philippines because of flooding. Most have since returned home, but more than 10,000 people remained in 28 government shelters.

In Benguet province, at least ten people were killed and an undetermined number were missing after boulders, mud and debris crashed down a mountain and buried workers' quarters of the Luzon Hydroelectric Cooperative.

In nearby Baguio city, five people died in separate landslides, and a 30-year-old South Korean student was killed when a section of road collapsed, plunging his car into a ravine, said chief inspector Ricardo Villena.

At least five provinces have been declared in a state of calamity, to allow emergency funds to be released to these areas. Price control has also been established to prevent profiteersfrom taking advantage of the situation.

In Taiwan, six people were dead and four missing after Zeb roared across the island today. Rivers in the Taipei area swelled their banks, and low lying urban areas in Taipei county were flooded by torrential rains. Residents were evacuated to safety by rescue workers patrolling through the night in inflatable boats.

Many international flights were canceled, and others arriving in Taipei were re-routed to Hong Kong, airport officials said. In its peak, Zeb reached ``super typhoon'' status, with sustained winds of 240 kph and gusts measuring 295 kph.