Photo/Illutration A J-Alert message about a missile launch by North Korea is shown on a screen at JR Sapporo Station on April 13. (Takayuki Kakuno)

Japan denounced as an “outrage” North Korea’s missile launch on April 13 that triggered an emergency warning for residents in Hokkaido.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno confirmed that at least one projectile, possibly an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), was fired eastward from North Korea at 7:22 a.m. that day.

The missile did not land in Japanese territorial waters, and it was not immediately known if it flew in Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), Matsuno said at a news conference.

He said that the government is analyzing the missile’s trajectory and altitude, the distance and time of the flight, and where exactly it landed.

The top government spokesman described the missile launch as an “outrage that will escalate (North Korea’s) provocation toward the whole international society.”

“A series of actions by North Korea, including the repeated launches of ballistic missiles, threaten the peace and safety of our country and region as well as those of international society. They are totally unacceptable,” Matsuno said.

He said Japan has lodged a strong complaint to North Korea via its embassy in Beijing.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea launched a medium- or longer-range ballistic missile on April 13.

It was fired at a high angle, flew for around 1,000 kilometers and fell in the Sea of Japan, according to Seoul.

The Japanese government issued a J-Alert emergency message at 7:55 a.m., about 30 minutes after the missile launch, to residents in Hokkaido. It said the missile could land near Japan’s northernmost main island.

However, at 8:15 a.m., the government called off the warning through the Em-Net emergency information network system.

According to Matsuno, the government detected the missile right after it was launched, but it immediately disappeared from radar screens.

The government issued the J-Alert warning because information collected showed that the missile could possibly land in Hokkaido.

However, the government around 20 minutes later established there was no possibility of it hitting Hokkaido.

“Considering the role of the J-Alert system, which is to quickly inform the public of danger, we believe the decision to issue the alert was appropriate,” Matsuno said.

The Cabinet Secretariat is responsible for both the J-Alert and Em-Net systems.

The central government uses the J-Alert system to provide information to residents during time-pressured emergency situations.

The information is sent mainly to mobile phone operators and municipalities’ emergency radio systems via the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.

The government uses the Em-Net system to simultaneously send emergency information to municipalities and the media, among others, via a dedicated line, just like J-Alert.

The government in October mistakenly sent a J-Alert emergency message to residents in islands south of Tokyo about potential danger from a ballistic missile launched by North Korea.

The alert should have been sent to northern parts of Japan.

In November, a J-Alert message wrongly said a North Korean missile flew past Japanese territory toward the Pacific Ocean when it actually didn’t.

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