North Korea’s launch of a fourth rocket over Japanese territory brings its neighbour a mixture of evacuation drills and uncertainty
F or the second time in just over a fortnight, millions of people in northern Japan were jolted awake by an alert warning them a North Korean missile was heading in their direction.
“Missile launch! Missile launch!” read the first of two messages, as the wail of sirens pierced the early-morning calm in a dozen prefectures, including the northern island of Hokkaido.
“A missile appears to have been launched from North Korea. Take cover in a building or underground,” the message added.
The missile, thought to be an intermediate-range Hwasong-12, was of the same type that triggered Japan’s first J-alert warning at the end of last month – a chilling reminder to North Korea’s neighbour that it is within easy striking distance of its missiles.
As the US and countries in the region persists with sanctions and continue to rule out dialogue – a hardline stance mirrored by Kim Jong-un’s regime – residents were concerned that ballistic fly-pasts and calls to “duck and cover” could become an uncomfortable fact of life.
Seven minutes later, a second text confirmed the missile had passed over Japanese territory without incident before splashing into the Pacific ocean 2,000km to the east. “Missile passed. Missile passed,” it said.
“It seems that the missile has passed Hokkaido area and landed in the Pacific Ocean. If you find anything suspicious, please don’t go close to it. Report it to the police and firefighters.”
Friday’s missile was the fourth to have passed over Japanese territory. The first was in 1998 and the second in 2009, although Pyongyang claims they were rockets carrying satellites into orbit.
Multiple missile tests in recent months have sparked concern – although not panic – in Japan and ushered in a flurry of civil defence activity not witnessed since the end of the war.
About a dozen towns have conducted evacuation drills since North Korean missiles landed in the sea inside Japan’s exclusive economic zone in March, and sales of nuclear shelters have soared, although the overall number is still low.
“I cannot say that we are used to this. I mean, the missile flew right above our town. It’s not a very comforting thing to hear,” said Yoshihiro Saito, who works in the small Hokkaido fishing town of Erimo.
