"There is Light in the Sky!" Ministry of National Defense Launch Seen in Japan

Japanese Netizens Share Images from Flight Time

Solid-propellant space launch vehicle of the Ministry of National Defense, presumed to have been filmed in Osaka, Japan / Photo by Twitter Capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] On the 30th, the unidentified flying object spotted in Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi was confirmed to be an experimental space launch vehicle by the Ministry of National Defense, and the flight of this launch vehicle was also captured in Japan, drawing attention.

At around 6:05 p.m. that day, eyewitness accounts of a mysterious object soaring into the sky were posted on online communities and social networking services (SNS). Reports of the unidentified flying object were not limited to Korea alone. Similar stories such as "a dazzling object flew into the sky" were shared in several regions of Japan close to Korea.

A netizen presumed to reside in the Osaka area recorded the scene and shared it on Twitter. This netizen asked, "There is a mysterious light in the Osaka sky. Does anyone know what it is?" Other reactions included, "Light was streaming out like rockets pouring," and "My first UFO capture in my life."

At the same time in Korea, various opinions about the flying object circulated. Especially commuters on their way home took photos of the flash and trajectory left by the flying object and posted them, speculating on its identity. On SNS, hashtags such as "rainbow colors," "natural phenomenon," and "all over the country" ranked high among popular search terms.

Some were gripped by anxiety, recalling the North Korean drone incident that intruded into Korean airspace without permission on the 26th. One netizen confessed, "For a moment, I thought war was breaking out, and I was scared." Because of this, many citizens reported the incident to the police or fire department.

The identity of the unidentified flying object that caused a commotion in both Korea and Japan was ultimately confirmed to be a test flight of the Ministry of National Defense's "solid-propellant space launch vehicle." The incident occurred because the test flight was conducted without prior notice for security reasons.

Online, while some expressed relief with comments like "It's a relief that it wasn't a major event like a war," others criticized the government for not providing timely information, which could have reduced confusion. One netizen pointed out, "If an explanation had been given through disaster alerts immediately after the launch, people wouldn't have been so anxious."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.