Aug. 31 (Bloomberg) -- Tropical storm Krovanh approached Japan, bringing strong winds and heavy rain to Tokyo, forcing flight cancellations and halting shipments from oil refineries.

The center of Krovanh, the 12th storm of the western Pacific cyclone season, was 168 kilometers (104 miles) east of Tokyo at 7 p.m. local time, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

The storm’s maximum sustained winds measured 102 kilometers per hour, down from 111 kph earlier today. Krovanh was moving north-northeast at 30 kph, the agency said.

Krovanh is the second storm to approach Japan this month. The Tokyo area has also been rocked by three earthquakes in August, including a magnitude-6.5 quake that left one woman dead on Aug. 11. Twenty-three people died in flooding and storms attributed to Tropical Storm Etau, according to Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency.

The weather agency issued warnings for heavy rain, high waves and stormy weather for Tokyo, neighboring Chiba prefecture, the location of Japan’s biggest international airport near Narita, and areas to the north. Krovanh was expected to bring as much as 5 centimeters (2 inches) of rain per hour.

One woman was injured in Chiba when a tree fell on her, national broadcaster NHK Television said.

Canceled Flights

All Nippon Airways Co., Japan’s largest domestic airline, canceled 24 flights within the country, affecting 2,600 people, it said in a faxed statement. Japan Airlines Corp., Asia’s largest airline by sales, said in a statement it canceled nine flights, including between Tokyo and Osaka.

Some international flights were canceled or delayed, NHK Television said. Train and ferry services were also suspended or delayed in Tokyo and neighboring areas.

Nippon Oil Corp., the nation’s largest oil refiner, stopped shipments from its Negishi refinery in Yokohama south of Tokyo and Cosmo Oil Co. halted those from its refinery in Chiba. Idemitsu Kosan Co. also stopped shipments.

Krovanh is the name of a tree in Cambodia, according to the Web site of the Hong Kong Observatory, which names the storms.

To contact the reporters on this story: Aaron Sheldrick in Tokyo at asheldrick@bloomberg.net; Anna Kitanaka in Tokyo at akitanaka@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: August 31, 2009 07:00 EDT