TOKYO, Oct. 21 (Xinhuanet) -- Typhoon Tokage left at least 57 people dead, 32 missing and more than 300 injured as it cleared Japan on Thursday morning and the government said the damage was the worst from a typhoon in 10 years.

    The typhoon brought downpours and strong winds, destroying houses and important cultural properties, derailing a train and disrupting transportation services across the country.

    The number of casualties was the worst in 10 years, the Japan Fire and Disaster Management Agency said, comparing the latest figures with the 93 people who died or went missing between July and August in 1993 due to two typhoons.

    Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi ordered an immediate dispatch of a government fact-finding team when he met Yoshitaka Murata, state minister in charge of disaster management.

    Airlines canceled a total of 119 domestic flights Thursday morning, affecting some 25,000 travelers. The flight schedule willbe normalized beginning in the afternoon, according to airline companies.

    The typhoon also caused damage to some state-designated important cultural properties, including the roof of Tamura-do hall of the Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto and the wall of the Zuiryu Temple in Takaoka, central Japan's Toyama Prefecture.

    As of 9 a.m. (2400 GMT) Thursday, the typhoon was downgraded toan extratropical depression and was located in the Pacific off theKanto region of eastern Japan and moving east, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

    The typhoon, which made landfall on Shikoku Island at about noon time Wednesday, reached Japan's largest main island of Honshulater in the day, landing in Osaka Prefecture.

    The 23rd typhoon of the season then moved through Honshu overnight and went offshore near Tokyo's neighboring Chiba Prefecture, at around 6 a.m. Thursday.

    It is the 10th typhoon to make landfall in Japan this year. Theprevious record was six in both 1990 and 1993.

    Many areas across Japan were hit by torrential rain and strong wind from Tokage, which is the Japanese name for the constellationLacerta, or the Lizard. Enditem