World Rugby has taken the unprecedented step of cancelling two World Cup matches due to extreme weather.
England's clash with France and New Zealand's showdown against Italy will not be played due to an incoming storm described by the Japanese Meteorological Agency as "violent".
Here the PA news agency examines the questions surrounding the decision.
Why has World Rugby aborted the game?
The approach of Super Typhoon Hagibis left little alternative. The region's most powerful cyclone of 2019 threatens to cause widespread devastation to the Kanto region which encompasses Tokyo and Yokohama. It is due to hit mainland Honshu - Japan's biggest island - on Saturday and could persist into the following day before moving north. Typhoon Faxai, which was far smaller than Hagibis, brought public transport to a standstill long after it had passed when it struck at the start of the tournament.
Could the games have been moved?
The option of playing the matches in Oita, where two quarter-finals are being held, was explored until it became clear it was logistically impossible. World Rugby also declared that the risk to travelling teams, fans and volunteers is too great with Hagibis looming. Questions have been asked over the depth of contingency planning, but World Rugby says that by cancelling games it has acted in accordance with rules established pre-tournament.
But why did they stage the World Cup in typhoon season?
It is the only window available. Since 1999 it has been staged from September to November and due to congestion in the rugby calendar there is no other space for it. Taking the World Cup to Asia for the first time was a bold move and until Hagibis escalated into a category five super typhoon on Tuesday the tournament was a triumph, unique and different to anything before it. Japan is the third biggest rugby economy behind France and England and World Rugby deemed that braving stormy season was a risk worth taking. Now it is being forced to defend the decision, which it says it does not regret.
