Typhoon Choi-wan approaching Japan's Ogasawara Islands | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News

A large and powerful typhoon, now over the sea far south of Japan, is expected to move north while developing and come closest to the Pacific islands of Ogasawara early next week.

People are advised to be on the alert for high waves from Sunday onward.

The Japan Meteorological Agency says that as of 6 a.m. on Saturday, Typhoon Choi-wan was moving north-northeast near the Mariana Islands at a speed of 15 kilometers per hour.

The typhoon had a central atmospheric pressure of 970 hectopascals. It was packing winds of up to 126 kilometers per hour near its center, with gusts peaking at 180 kilometers per hour.

Violent winds of more than 90 kilometers per hour were blowing within a radius of 130 kilometers from the center.

The typhoon is expected to move northward while developing and head toward waters near Japan's Ogasawara Islands on Sunday. It is projected to come closest to the islands from Monday to Tuesday.

Seas will be very rough near the islands with swells of 6 meters expected from Sunday through Tuesday. Weather officials are calling on people to be on the alert for high waves.

Winds are also expected to become stronger, and people need to be cautious of stormy winds from Monday onward.

The typhoon's path later in the week is still hard to predict, but it will most likely move north in waters east of the Japanese archipelago.

Waves could become high in northern and eastern Japan from around Tuesday.