Japan Issues and Corrects North Korea Missile Evacuation Alert: "Risk of Falling Disappeared" (Summary)

Flight and high-speed rail services suspended for about 30 minutes
Information and response capabilities likely to face scrutiny

The Japanese government issued an evacuation alert on the 13th, anticipating that a ballistic missile launched by North Korea into the Sea of Japan would fall near the northernmost area around Hokkaido, but later corrected the alert, stating that the possibility of the missile falling there had disappeared. This is expected to spark renewed controversy within and outside Japanese political circles regarding the country's response capabilities and defense against North Korean missiles.

The 'J-Alert' screen issued by the Japanese government.

The Japanese Ministry of Defense announced at 7:26 a.m. that a ballistic missile had been launched from North Korea. Subsequently, the government instructed people to immediately take shelter inside buildings or underground through the nationwide alert system (J-ALERT), which transmits information to local governments via satellite, stating that "the ballistic missile is expected to fall near Hokkaido around 8 a.m."

However, at 8:16 a.m., the government retracted the evacuation order, stating, "After verifying the information, it has been confirmed that the missile is no longer likely to fall on Hokkaido or its surroundings."

At 8:45 a.m., the Ministry of Defense also announced, "It has been confirmed that the missile is no longer likely to fall on Hokkaido, and detailed analysis is underway." The ministry added that the launched missile is likely to be of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) class, and the exact impact point is currently under investigation.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida convened a National Security Council (NSC) meeting from 9:35 a.m. for about an hour to receive information and discuss future response measures.

Following this, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, who attended the NSC meeting, held a press conference at 11 a.m. and issued a strong statement condemning North Korea. He said, "(This missile launch) is an outrageous act that expands provocations against the entire international community," and added, "Repeated actions by North Korea, including ballistic missile launches, are absolutely unacceptable." He also stated, "This violates United Nations Security Council resolutions, and we have lodged a stern protest and strongly condemned North Korea through the Beijing embassy channel."

However, the correction of the evacuation alert is expected to continue to fuel debate in Japan regarding the accuracy of future alerts. A government official told NHK, "The detected missile was initially believed to have a possibility of falling near Hokkaido, but it appears to have disappeared from radar afterward." Even after Minister Matsuno's press conference, reporters continued to question the circumstances surrounding the alert issuance.

Koichi Hagiuda, Chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party's Policy Research Council, commented on the information correction, saying, "Repeated missile launches threaten Japan's safety," and added, "Since there was confusion surrounding the alert system this time as well, the circumstances must be verified, and if there are points to improve, they should be promptly addressed."

Meanwhile, the North Korean missile launch caused inconvenience to citizens in Japan, including the suspension of high-speed rail services. Domestic flights departing from New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido were suspended for about 20 to 30 minutes that day.

The Tohoku Shinkansen temporarily halted operations around 8 a.m. but resumed around 8:20 a.m., and the Sapporo City Board of Education advised parents to delay sending their children to school if they felt uneasy and to allow children to stay at home. Hokkaido Electric Power Company stated that there were no abnormalities at nuclear power plants due to this launch.

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