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Agence France-Presse

Millions of Japanese awoke to ominous text messages Tuesday warning them to take cover as a North Korean missile flew overhead, with one train operator bluntly explaining its halted service as “Reason: Ballistic missile launch.”
Sirens blared out in northern communities that were on the flight path of the ballistic missile as it soared over Japanese territory for two minutes before crashing into the Pacific.
“Missile passing. Missile passing.” warned an official text message sent to people across the north of Japan.
“A short time ago, a missile apparently passed above this area.
“If you find suspicious objects, please don’t go near them and immediately call police or firefighters.
“Please take cover in secure buildings or underground.”
Watch: North Korea fires missile over Japan


North Korea’s launch towards neighbouring Japan - a key US ally and Korea’s former colonial overlord - marked a major escalation by Pyongyang amid tensions over its weapons ambitions.
And for the first time in the most recent round of weaponised brinkmanship from Pyongyang, it brought real worries to people in Japan.
Morning commuters in northernmost Hokkaido were greeted by warning signs at train stations bringing many rail services to a halt.
At one metro station in Sapporo, a major city of nearly two million, passengers were warned here would be delays.

“All lines are experiencing disruption,” said one sign. “Reason: Ballistic missile launch.”
Commuters took the government messages to heart.
“Some passengers came down to take cover in a couple of subway stations,” a Sapporo subway spokesman said.
Others had little choice but to carry on with their usual schedule, including the crews aboard some 15 fishing vessels that had already left port off southern Hokkaido in an area under the missile’s path.
“I was surprised that it went above our area. This has never happened before,” Hiroyuki Iwafune, an official at the local fishery co-op, said.

“I was worried. Everyone felt the same. But what can you do? Hide? But where?
“We called those who were at sea. But then they said, ‘Even with this (warning), what are we supposed to do?’” Iwafune added.
In Tokyo, more than 700 kilometres south of the missile’s flight path, some train services were temporarily halted.
“Currently, a North Korean missile is flying above Japan,” said announcements at Tokyo stations handling bullet trains, minutes after the launch.
“It is very dangerous. Please take cover at the waiting areas or inside the trains.”
Tokyo university student Julia Kotake said she was scared of the possibility that a missile could hit Japan.

“But I don’t think there is anything that we could do,” the 18-year-old said.
At a US military base in Tokyo, Japan deployed a Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile defence system as part of a previously scheduled drill.
“Practising this kind of drill allows us to maintain our fast response system in the event of a ballistic missile launch and to strengthen the force of persuasion, not only by our country but also by the US-Japan alliance,” Hiroaki Maehara, commander of Japan’s Air Self-Defence Forces, told a press briefing.


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‘Missile passing. Missile passing’: Japanese wake to terrifying text message on their phones after North Korean launch

The Japanese government's alert message notifying citizens of a ballistic missile launch by North Korea, which was sent to mobile and smart phones located in Japan's Hokkaido and Tohoku (Northeast) region. Photo: Kyodo

epa06169385 A Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile interceptor unit is deployed to counter North Korea's launch of ballistic missile at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo, Japan, 29 August 2017. According to the governemnt, North Korea has launched a ballistic missile over Japan that crashed in the Pacific ocean, more than 1,000 km east of Hokkaido’s Cape Erimo. No damage has been reported so far. EPA/FRANCK ROBICHON

Photo taken Aug. 29, 2017, shows the Japanese government's satellite-based J-Alert system notifying citizens of a ballistic missile launch by North Korea. The missile passed over the Japanese archipelago before falling into the Pacific Ocean off Hokkaido, heightening tensions between the United States and North Korea. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

A teleconference is held at Hokkaido Government in Sapporo, northern Japan after North Korea fired a missile over Japan Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017. North Korea fired a ballistic missile from its capital Pyongyang that flew over Japan before plunging into the northern Pacific Ocean, officials said Tuesday, an aggressive test-flight over the territory of a close U.S. ally that sends a clear message of defiance as Washington and Seoul conduct war games nearby. Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile traveled around 2,700 kilometers (1,677 miles) and reached a maximum height of 550 kilometers (341 miles) as it flew over the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. (Masanori Takei/Kyodo News via AP)

Nervous Japanese hold evacuation drill in case North Korea fires missiles over them

School students take part in an evacuation drill based on the scenario of a launch of North Korean missiles towards the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam that would fly over their homes, in the town of Kotoura, Tottori prefecture. Photo: Kyodo

Local residents take part in an evacuation drill based on the scenario of a launch of North Korean missiles towards the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam that would fly over their homes, in the town of Kotoura, Tottori prefecture, Japan in this photo taken by Kyodo August 19, 2017. Mandatory credit Kyodo/via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. JAPAN OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN JAPAN.

North Korea fires missile over Japan for first time since 2009, prompting Trump to insist ‘all options are on the table’

A North Korean "Hwasong-12” ballistic missile. Japan’s Defence Minster Itsunori Onodera said that Tuesday’s missile did not fly on a highly “lofted” trajectory and could be the same type as intermediate-range missile Hwasong-12, which Pyongyang fired on May 14. File photo: AP

In this Saturday, April 15, 2017, file photo, what analysts believe could be the North Korean Hwasong 12 is paraded across Kim Il Sung Square during a military parade in Pyongyang, North Korea. Threatening to fire a volley of missiles toward a major U.S. military hub _ and the home to 160,000 American civilians _ may seem like a pretty bad move for a country that is seriously outgunned and has an awful lot to lose. But pushing the envelope, or just threatening to do so, is what North Korea does best. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File)

The Air-Self Defense Force practices deploying Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missile interceptors at the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, western Japan, on Aug. 29, 2017, as North Korea fired a ballistic missile that fell into the Pacific Ocean off Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

People walk by a TV news program reporting North Korea's missile launch, in Tokyo, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017. North Korea fired a ballistic missile from its capital Pyongyang that flew over Japan before plunging into the northern Pacific Ocean, officials said Tuesday, an aggressive test-flight over the territory of a close U.S. ally that sends a clear message of defiance as Washington and Seoul conduct war games nearby. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the Command of the Strategic Force of the Korean People's Army (KPA) in an unknown location in North Korea in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on August 15, 2017. KCNA/via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO THIRD PARTY SALES. SOUTH KOREA OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN SOUTH KOREA. PICTURE BLURRED AT SOURCE. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

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North Korea’s missile launch towards neighbouring Japan marked a major escalation by Pyongyang amid tensions over its weapons ambitions


‘Missile passing. Missile passing’: Japanese wake to terrifying text message on their phones after North Korean launch

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}North Korea’s missile launch towards neighbouring Japan marked a major escalation by Pyongyang amid tensions over its weapons ambitions

North Korea’s missile launch towards neighbouring Japan marked a major escalation by Pyongyang amid tensions over its weapons ambitions