In a separate incident, another unidentified submarine was detected traveling west of Amami-Oshima Island in Kagoshima prefecture on May 2.

WSJ: Japan on Alert Over Submarines Near Its Territorial Waters

The strong winds associated with Typhoon Melor have already left over ten thousand homes without electricity in Okinawa, Amami-Oshima and other southern islands.

BBC: Weather - Melor affects the south of Japan

But in the summer and especially during the Buddhist Obon festival in August, Towa's island of Suoh-Oshima is overrun with visitors, many of them returning locals.

CNN: WHERE IT'S GOOD TO BE OLD