Aug. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Typhoon Maria, the season's seventh, is nearing the Japanese archipelago and may make landfall this afternoon in western or central Japan, the Japan Meteorological Agency said on its Web site.

The agency issued heavy-rainfall warnings for as much as 300 millimeters (12 inches) of rain in the Kinki and Tokai regions, southwest of Tokyo, and as much as 100 millimeters in the Kanto area, which includes Tokyo, tonight.

The typhoon was about 200 kilometers (125 miles) southeast of the coast of Wakayama prefecture at 4 a.m. and moving northwest at about 15 kilometers an hour, with wind up to 108 kilometers per hour at its center.

Two other storms, Typhoon Saomai, the season's eighth, is approaching the southern island of Okinawa, and typhoon Bopha is moving toward Taiwan, the weather agency said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ron Rhodes in Tokyo at rrhodes3@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: August 7, 2006 18:29 EDT