Japan will send a disaster relief team and supplies to Taiwan to assist in the wake of Typhoon Morakot, the Foreign Ministry said in a press release Wednesday.

It said Japan plans to dispatch a five-person team, including one foreign ministry official, two medical crew and two international aid officers to Taiwan. They are expected to arrive in the island on Friday.

As part of Japan's 100-million-yen financial assistance to Taiwan, Japan will also send supplies, including 50 water-filtering machines and 30 electric generators, the ministry said.

The typhoon triggered the worst flooding in the southern part of Taiwan in a half-century, and the death toll will likely exceed 500.

(Xinhua News Agency August 20, 2009)