Around 7:30 am on the 4th, the J-alert sounded at a house in Niijima Village, Tokyo = the siren of the nationwide instantaneous warning system.



The government issued J-Alert five years ago, since 2017.

We usually have few opportunities to come into contact with this information, but how did it reach the local people?

An unfamiliar warning sound...

In this house, an individual receiver for disaster prevention administrative radio is installed in the room, and after the siren, it says, ``It seems that a missile has been launched from North Korea. A voice came out.



According to the woman who lives in the house, this receiver was distributed by the village to each household free of charge, and usually in the evening there are announcements from the village office and information about ferry operations.



Woman


: “It was an unfamiliar alarm sound, so at first I didn't even know if the sound was coming from the terminal. I soon realized that it was a missile launch, but I was very surprised. I was in the house. So I just spent it.”

What region did you send to?

This time, the first J alert information was issued at 7:27 am.

According to information that a missile is believed to have been launched from North Korea, two towns and seven villages in Hokkaido and the islands of Tokyo (Oshima Town, Toshima Village, Niijima Village, Kozushima Village, Miyake Village, Mikurashima Village, Hachijo Town, Aogashima) Village, Ogasawara Village) was the target.



At 7:29, the same missile launch information was reported to two towns and seven villages in the islands of Aomori Prefecture and Tokyo.



At 7:42, information was sent to Hokkaido and Aomori prefectures that the missile appeared to have passed into the Pacific Ocean.



At a press conference in the afternoon, the government erroneously stated, ``Information to the effect that a missile was launched was carried out even though it is not an area that requires caution against missiles.'' made it clear that

Some people received information on their smartphones

A woman living in Hakodate finished breakfast and was getting ready to drop off her elementary school child at school when smartphones all over the house started ringing loudly.



Looking at the screen, it seems that the notification "Emergency bulletin" was displayed.

Woman : "I was surprised when I suddenly heard an unfamiliar sound. I didn't

hear


from the school, so I took my child to school as usual."



A series of tweets said they were surprised by the notification.



"A loud noise made my child cry."


"I was startled and woke up.


"

How do you get there in the first place?

J-ALERT sends information on disaster prevention and civil protection instantly to local governments via artificial satellites.



In addition to information on ballistic missile launches like this time, it is assumed that earthquake early warnings and tsunami warnings will be sent.



Of these, information about ballistic missiles will be sent to areas that need attention when it is determined that they will fall into Japanese territory or territorial waters or may pass over Japan.



There are several ways in which we receive this information.


The first method is to use the disaster prevention radio system installed by the local government.



In addition to sirens and calls for attention from outdoor speakers, if you have a receiver installed in your home, it will automatically start up and convey information.



There is also a way to know on your smartphone or mobile phone.


Mobile phone carriers will send out notifications to users in the target area all at once, and local governments will send emails to people who have registered in advance.



There are other ways to find out, such as TV, radio, and the Internet.

how do we

So what should we do when we receive a J-Alert notification?



We interviewed Professor Mitsuru Fukuda of Nihon University College of Crisis Management, who specializes in communication of emergency information.

Professor Mitsuru Fukuda


“Since it is impossible to tell by sight whether a missile has been launched or not, information such as J-Alert is vital. I don't know if it will fall.It depends on the missile, but the time left after the J-Alert information arrives may be minutes or tens of seconds, so it is important to act immediately. For example, if you're outdoors, go underground to a nearby sturdy-looking building or subway, etc. If you're indoors, as a general rule, don't go outside."

And Toshiyuki Ito, a former Maritime Self-Defense Force admiral and professor at the Toranomon Graduate School of Kanazawa Institute of Technology, says it's important to fear correctly.

Professor Toshiyuki Ito


: “Unfortunately, Japan overlaps with North Korea’s missile launch test grounds. The missiles will be launched over the sky, so the missiles will fly toward Japan, but basically, if something happens and they hit Japan, the Self-Defense Forces will intercept them. In a sense, I think it is necessary to fear correctly.”