TOKYO (AFP) - Heavy rains lashed Japan over the weekend, leaving one person dead and two missing, the government said on Monday as it issued a severe storm warning.

A 79-year-old woman was confirmed dead on Sunday after being discovered inside a house that was destroyed by mudslides in Yamaguchi prefecture, on Japan's southwest coast.

An 84-year-old man was missing from the same region after being swept away near a river, local reports said, citing police and other official sources.

Also missing was a 24-year-old man who was last seen leaving his home in Shimane prefecture, just to the north of Yamaguchi.

The Japan Meteorological Agency warned of floods and mudslides from "unprecedented heavy rain", saying the storm was to sweep over central Japan on Monday.