North Korea launched an apparent long-range ballistic missile on Thursday, leading Japan to issue a rare alert for residents in Hokkaido to immediately seek shelter. However, the alert was later rescinded.
According to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the government verified that “no missile had landed within Japanese territory”. Tokyo is currently analyzing the launch.
Tokyo also confirmed that the missile had fallen outside of Japanese territory in waters off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula.
The J-alert was issued early on Thursday morning, urging people to take cover as the missile could potentially hit or land on the island. However, local officials later confirmed that there was no chance of the missile hitting the island and that the evacuation order had been sent in error.
Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada had stated in a news conference on Thursday that an intercontinental ballistic missile-class weapon was fired at a high angle in an easterly direction, but the ministry had not confirmed whether it fell into Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s military reported that the North may have tested a new weapons system, possibly a solid-fueled missile of intermediate or longer range, with the missile flying at a high angle from the vicinity of Pyongyang and traveling about 1,000 kilometers before landing.
Residents in Confusion
Millions of residents in Japan’s Hokkaido island were left confused and angry after receiving the evacuation order via the government’s emergency alert system.
“What is the use of the J-Alert, which warns of a missile falling when you do not know where it will fall?” asked one Twitter user. “In the end, it serves no purpose other than to instill in the Japanese people the feeling that Japan is being targeted, and to scare them.”
Cabinet Secretary Defends the Alert
At a press conference held in Tokyo on Thursday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno of Japan defended the government’s response but acknowledged “We did not correct the information issued by the J-Alert.”
He stated that the alert was considered “appropriate” given the limited information available at that time while adding that the government updated the alert after determining that the missile would not land close to Hokkaido.
Not the First Time
The J-Alert system has previously also encountered problems. In October of last year, Japan issued an apology for the system malfunctioning, as alerts were mistakenly sent to residents in nine of Tokyo’s island towns and villages. At that time, North Korea had launched a ballistic missile, but it did not pass over the communities who received the alerts.
The recent incident has further sparked criticism of the J-Alert system and its usefulness in situations like this, with some residents questioning the need for it altogether.