TOKYO, Sept 6 (Reuters) - A typhoon was approaching Tokyo on Thursday, sparking fears of flooding, landslides and high winds in and around the Japanese capital.

Typhoon Fitow, whose name means "beautiful fragrant flower" in a Micronesian language, was about 500 km (300 miles) south of Tokyo at 8 a.m. (2300 GMT Wedmesday), bringing with it winds gusting up to 180 km an hour. The storm was moving north at 15 km an hour, Japan's Meteorological Agency said.

The agency warned of possible flooding in a number of areas, including western Tokyo, and issued landslide warnings for regions north of the capital.

British-based Web site Tropical Storm Risk (www.tropicalstormrisk.com) said Fitow was currently a category 1 typhoon, the weakest on a scale of 5, but forecast it would strengthen before making landfall near the capital early on Friday.

In July, a powerful typhoon killed three people and injured more than 70 after it hit the southern island of Kyushu and moved along the country's eastern coastline.

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