N Korea fires ballistic missile over Japan; some trains suspended

Doesn't anyone think it's strange that after all these years of "launches" there's not a single video or still photo of these missiles? Ive been following this pretty closely since 2005. Why don't they pull one of the sunken missiles from the bottom of the ocean? That would be a little solid evidence. Stock photos & videos is what we get to see on the news instead. Furthermore, when North Korea had their big military parade a while back, German military experts pointed out that the missiles on display were all fake. Which would follow, as NK has been known to constantly lie and exaggerate its capabilities. The other, more interesting question is, why does the Japanese government go along with the stories?? And in 2022, not a single person with an iPhone captured these projectiles over Hokkaido? A lot of questions....

Somebody call Rodman, if he can’t sort it, it's time to put those Patriots to use.

However South Korea does have the capability to intercept a missile at that altitude.

Hard to say. If their DDGs carry SM-3 then perhaps that is true but nothing ground based in the South Korean inventory could hit a missile in space. I don't even think THAAD could have hit it. THAAD is designed to hit missiles that are descending to their target with PAC-3 (hopefully) taking care of the ones THAAD missed.

It argues that North Korea's test firings of missiles affect Okinawa directly, where U.S. bases concentrate, adding that genuine peace through dialogue should be pursued rather than escalating military confrontation.

Which nation is escalating in this instance? They should direct their editorials to the DPRK leaders who are responsible for this. Japan and the US are just trying to protect themselves.

The Japanese and US aren't going to just aimlessly lob PAC-3 missiles (which costs approximately $10 million US each)

Their unit cost is half that based on current budget documents available on line.

PAC-3 is a point defense system designed to hit incoming ballistic missiles (but not ICBM warheads) on what is called the "terminal phase", the last few seconds before they hit their target. One would need something like SM-3 to hit a ballistic missile in space at the apogee of its ballistic trajectory.

This may however revive discussions about siting Aegis Ashore in Japan.

It doesn't feel good when an unfriendly nation fires ballistic missile over your airspace

Imagine if that was done over North Korea. Or China. Or Russia. Or Europe. Or the US

@Kenshin

My bad!

In fact, the yen rate didn’t react one iota proving that some people don’t see a threat at all.

And there wouldn’t be even that much if the wastrels in the Diet actually were willing to engage in dialogue with the North Koreans instead of lining their own pockets…

FYI. Today's Ryukyu Shimpo editorial claims to the same effect as my post above (Oct. 4 11:38 am JST).

It argues that North Korea's test firings of missiles affect Okinawa directly, where U.S. bases concentrate, adding that genuine peace through dialogue should be pursued rather than escalating military confrontation.

The yen sunk against the US dollar due to the outrageous and catastrophic launch by North Korea!

The Yen has already been weak. What kind of logic is this?

While millions of North Koreans are starving their maniac leader plays the nuke guy. The time has passed to stop him, put an end to the career of a junior dictator - the North Korean elite could resolve this, or their own people, unless they agree to starve and be denied their most basic human rights. As he is provoking free countries as Japan and South Korea, it seems to be the case to both governments with the US support to resolve this, neutralizing the crazy man that sends rockets over the heads and sky of innocent civilians just for personal fun.

OK, so ignoring international norms, it’s fine to send missiles over North Korea, then, with no warning.

They are flying missiles over Japan and Japan/US are watching.

As well as they should be, and they are. The Japanese and US aren't going to just aimlessly lob PAC-3 missiles (which costs approximately $10 million US each) at incoming North Korean targets that are beyond the effective range of that defense system. The Japanese version of the PATRIOT system designed was only meant to only hit incoming threats in the terminal phase.

@AManInJapanToday 

Does Japan not have capability of blowing these up?

No Japan does not. And it's illegal to touch those missiles flying ABOVE Japan's territorial airspace.

What about US,

US doesn't either.

American fail it citizen,why would you think they will protect you any better

Little kim fireworks.

SaikoPhysco - I was thinking the same thing earlier. As a reaction to US exercises with Korea and Japan, one or two missiles being fired off would be expected, but as many as there have been in recent days makes me think there’s more going on. Wouldn’t exclude Putin trying to keep the US busy on many fronts.

US and Japan as well as the governments of other countries are keenly aware that the missiles are NKs reaction to what the US Japan and ROK are doing which is why they don't shoot down the missiles

They are flying missiles over Japan and Japan/US are watching.

Does Japan not have capability of blowing these up? What about US, who vowed ( and is being paid) to help Japan? It kinda looks like Japan have limited defence capabilities...If something does happen then clearly Japan is screwed.

Abe234Today  11:41 am JST

I'm actually beginning to think its Japan wanting the attention by continually bringing this to everyones attention.

That's right. Japan calls up Kim and has him fire missiles in their direction. LOL

Re ミサイル通過 Quote: The words read " Missile passed. Missile passed." 

No, they don’t mean that. Why bother to warn people when something has already passed?

Missairu tsūka means “Missile(s) passing (overhead)!” “Enemy missiles above!”, etc.

This-

[ Tuesday's launch is the fifth round of weapons tests by North Korea in the past 10 days in what was seen as an apparent response to bilateral military drills between South Korea and the United States and other training among the allies including Japan last week. ]

the fact that more bombs were dropped on the North during the Koreean war then in the entire Pacific theater during WWII

a lot of other inconvenient historical facts that JT doesn't want you to know because then you'd be upset and claim JT was communist for printing it.

Well I got that backwards above...but you know what I mean..

I'm afraid the only viable solution is to shoot them down. The cost of avoiding catstrophe in the advent they do actually initiate a first strike far exceeds the human toll of NOT shooting down an actual threat.

This serves a secondary purpose of denying NK the full results of future tests.

It should be carefully negotiated with our neighbors in the region, and be limited to Japan's sovereign airspace.

This might be part of some sort of a deal he has made with Putin. By firing off these missiles, especially the one that went over northern Japan, he is trying to show the world that anyone of them could have had a nuke on board. This stinks of cooperation with Putin to me. I'd be willing to bet, at the various intelligence agencies around the world, this show of force and its timing is related to the Ukraine, Russia, and Putin.

@Commanteer

He can test his missiles in his own backyard as far as I’m concerned. Lobbing them over Japan is a bit risky don’t you think? That’s how conflicts could start…

The Japanese government warned citizens in Hokkaido and Aomori prefectures to take cover.

That won't help if it's a nuke. 

Perhaps not much use if it's a direct hit, but for those on the fringes of the blast radius it could be life saving.

The fact China can't reign the big boy in shows weakness and their ability to be world leaders. Sad.

Japan should have the right to shoot down any missile flying in Japanese air space over its islands.

To have the right - one thing

To have technical possibilities - other thing

Japan is technical superpower? O-o...

Am I missing the elephant in the room? A missile was fired over Japan and they did nothing? Can you imagine what would happen if a missile was fired over the US or over any country in Europe? Like Trump said, "go ahead, fire a missile at Guam and see what happens".

“ Some experts say Kim eventually will return to diplomacy and use his enlarged arsenal to pressure Washington to accept his country as a nuclear state … “

Little Kim wants to be a big boy…

( lmao )

“ The country’s J-Alert warning system was activated at around 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday for Hokkaido, Aomori Prefecture and Tokyo’s Izu and Ogasawara islands. Upon receiving a J-Alert message, people are urged to take shelter either inside buildings or underground, as was the case with Tuesday’s launch. When there’s no building nearby, people are advised to hide behind objects or lie on the ground while protecting their heads. If people are indoors, they are advised to stay away from windows. The alerts also urge people not to approach debris or objects that may have fallen in the event of a missile strike or overflight. “

Pretty serious stuff (!)

and

“ Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters that "the firing, which followed a recent series of launches by North Korea, is a reckless act and I strongly condemn it." “

Weak. Very weak.

..

Today  09:52 am JST

Japan needs to be shooting these down routinely just to test it's tech.

On the surface, seems like a great idea, but... Kim would probably take that as an escalation and lord only knows what he would do next. If he felt that his gestures were futile and meaningless, the next time he may very well launch one directly towards Japanese soil!

That would be the biggest mistake of his life;

..

The annihilation of North Korea should be seen as a strong possibility. Twenty million dead people is a small price to pay for the safety of the world. Kim is a “ spoiled child “, and he’s desperate for attention, but he’s becoming unpredictable and dangerous; and he’s still young; how many of you wanna keep living with missiles flying over your heads(?)

Things need to get serious asap.

The yen sunk against the US dollar due to the outrageous and catastrophic launch by North Korea!

Japan should have the right to shoot down any missile flying in Japanese air space over its islands. If the missile is traveling out of atmosphere then perhaps it does not have that right.

Use the defensive missile systems and defend your air space.

Doesn't seem as if North Korea likes Japan very much. Feels kind of disrespectful. Why would you do that unless you wanted to disturb the people?

Do you know what's the funniest thing about this whole story?

North Korea received a lot of technical help for ballistic missile construction from ... Ukraine..

(they have Soviet technologies and badly need money)

Really funny!!!

If Donald Trump can visit North Korea in only one ton of presidency and make inroads with the regime then what is stopping the Japanese government?

What inroads would those be again?

What is…

1.Preventing a new treaty ?

2.Preventing a Japanese PM from doing the same as Trump did?

And…

Yeh,I was being facetious about calling in the diplomat…..

If Donald Trump can visit North Korea in only one ton of presidency and make inroads with the regime then what is stopping the Japanese government?

> 1) There is no North Korean ambassador in Japan to summon as Japan has no diplomatic ties with North Korea.

2) Worse, Japan is explicitly banned from establishing any formal diplomatic relations with North Korea due to the terms of the 1965 treaty.

If DonaldTrump can visit North Korea in only one term of presidency then what is

1.Preventing a new treaty ?

2.Preventing a Japanese PM from doing the same as Trump did?

And…

Yeh,I was being facetious about calling in the diplomat…..

Some here have suggested we shoot the missles out of the sky.

That is incredibly diffult to do.

Surface to air missles are generally used for much larger targets like airplanes or slower moving objects such as drones or even helicopters.

Think about throwing a pencil throug the air and trying to hit it with another pencil.

The U.S. with arguably the most advanced systems can't even shoot missles out of the sky 100 percnt of the time.

@Samit Basu

I know, I was trying to use subtle sarcasm.

We all know the Government doesn't make decisive decisions and then stand by them!

Much better to sit on the fence, have countless committee meetings, then when the missile is in the air heading our way, decide to make a statement saying that this is a "DEEPLY REGRETABLE" incident!

"Yeah, that'll put the fear of god in them!"

@El Rata

When is Japan launching a missile above Chōsen?

1) In order not to violate North Korea's territorial airspace, the missile must be a ballistic missile, but then it would likely land in China.

2) Hypersonic and even sub-sonic cruise missiles can avoid landing on China, but it violates North Korea's airspace, which gives North Korea the right to retaliate by bombing Tokyo.

again? what does fat boy kim want? attention?

Maybe Kim wants another photo-op with Trump, or maybe he wants to trade for some of the documents Trump stashed at Maga-Lago, maybe Kim will let Trump build a golf course in North Korea if Trump gives him some of the top secret documents with info about nukes. Or maybe he wants Trump to get his Qanon pals to tell Kim how to contact the aliens who fire lasers from their spacecraft.

Kim might be unhinged, but he and his advisors aren't completely stupid. He sees in Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan and other countries what the US and its allies are capable of and does these things as shows of strength. With the US, Korea and Japan strengthening (or promising to strengthen) their military presence in the region, he'll do anything to keep them away.

To the people of NK, of course, his regime is the biggest source of suffering. However, a ruler will always minimise their risk of getting ousted.

Let's hope they don't make a "mistake" and accidently land one of their missiles on Japan's soil. I'm sure they're fully aware of the cost of such a mistake.

@dommenter , but these articles seem aimed at stirring fear

In the highly suggestible and easily scared, perhaps.

Russia, similar to North Korea, is another authoritarian regime led by a mentally and emotionally unstable individual. Russia recently invaded a sovereign nation, heavily bombed it and threatened to use nukes, which no doubt has scared lots of people. But that's what the authoritarians and their followers want isn't it, while claiming it's the democracies that are ramping up tensions and warmongering. Lots of perspectives, I hope media outlets continue to provide as much information as possible, and I'll decide for myself what to believe and how to react to it.

@Sammit,

North Korea has attacked South Korea many times!

Got invaded and almost taken over by North Korea in the 50s! Only with American and Japanese help did you survive and make it!

You should worry more about your half of Korea, which is closer to North, and with the intention to take over South Korea and reunite under Kim. You have more to worry about then Japan does.

When is Japan launching a missile above Chōsen? Why is Japan response to threat and intimidation always so weak?

NK knows that Japan will do nothing as usual except speak very sternly.

There's not much Japan can do. There's a big difference between flying through Japanese airspace and flying high over Japan while in space. One is a violation of Japan's territorial sovereignty while the other is not. Today's launch reached a max altitude of around 1000km, well beyond the internationally recognised boundary of space.

@ReasonandWisdomNippon

South Korean products are half baked.

Japan Times doesn't think so.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/09/25/national/japan-defense-industry-struggle/

Between a rock and a hard place: Why Japan’s defense industry is struggling

The severity of the situation was made clear by Naohiko Abe, head of Integrated Defense and Space Systems at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), who told the Financial Times in July that a wider shake-up was needed. He said the country’s defense industry was not sustainable if it could only generate razor-thin margins from Defense Ministry contracts.

Last year, Mitsui E&S Shipbuilding decided to pull out from naval shipbuilding, selling the division to MHI, while Sumitomo Heavy Industries withdrew from the selection process for the next series of machine guns for the Ground Self-Defense Force. Two years earlier, Komatsu — once the seventh-largest supplier to the Defense Ministry — announced it would gradually stop developing its armored vehicle business, while Daicel, a major chemical company and supplier of devices for warplane ejection seats, pulled out of the defense business in 2020.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/09/28/asia-pacific/south-korea-defense-industry-thriving/

South Korea emerges as major defense industry player

GOYANG, SOUTH KOREA – As Japan’s defense industry struggles, South Korea’s is thriving, driven not only by the need to counter Pyongyang’s growing military threats but also by Seoul’s ambition to make the country one of the world’s top defense exporters.

Just how determined the government is to help the industry expand was highlighted in recent statements made by President Yoon Suk-yeol, who last month expressed his intention to make his country one of the world’s top four weapons suppliers.

South Korean products are half baked. I hope your military tech is better then your consumer products!

Japan has been under article 9 with many restrictions for decades. Any move and half of Korea would complain about Japanese trying conquer again.

New plane, new missile, S.Korea would always be there to complain towards Japanese remilitarization.

Japan needs to stop listening to Korean complaints, and have a normal military again!

@Nippon Ijsbear

I thought we had been building up an inter balistic missle defence system for this very situation?

Japan currently has no ballistic missile defense of any kind due to lack of funds.

Outraged by the price quoted by Lockheed for THAAD, Japan tried to deploy Aegis Ashore on the cheap at $4 billion, but the cost started spiraling out of control as the SM-3 missile booster would land uncontrollably since it was originally meant to launch at sea.

Accordingly, Japan cancelled original Aegis Ashore and is investigating building two 24,000 ton Aegis Ashore destroyers large enough to house Aegis Ashore radar, but Japan can only afford 2 and each one can be out in the sea only for 4 months a year, meaning there is a 4 month hole each year where there is no missile defense of any kind.

these articles seem aimed at stirring fear.

Actually I think it's the missile tests that are aimed at stirring fear.

How about Japan just tell NK they are going to test a few missles and test a few back at them.... they can't claim anything because they did the same.

Sounds good in theory, but testing a missile over NK in the same way would mean it coming down in China. I think Xi might want to express a very strong opinion abut that.

@kurisupisu

The North Korean ambassador needs to be summoned post haste!

1) There is no North Korean ambassador in Japan to summon as Japan has no diplomatic ties with North Korea.

2) Worse, Japan is explicitly banned from establishing any formal diplomatic relations with North Korea due to the terms of the 1965 treaty.

@deanzaZZR China nuclear warheads can be counted in the hundreds. Both the US and Russia have more than 5,000.

Yet it will only take one :(

How about Japan just tell NK they are going to test a few missles and test a few back at them.... they can't claim anything because they did the same.

I thought we had been building up an inter balistic missle defence system for this very situation?

Japan began developing the Ballistic Missile Defense(BMD) system in FY2004 to be fully prepared for the response against ballistic missile attacks. https://www.mod.go.jp/en/d_architecture/missile_defense/index.html

To date, Japan has steadily built up its own multi-tier defense system against ballistic missile attacks, by such means as installing ballistic missile defense capability to the Aegis-equipped destroyers and deploying the Patriot Advanced Capability-

If the Rocket Man is willing to send some practice missiles our way, should we at least take the opportunity to

practice shooting them down? You know what they say, "practice makes perfect."

@Abe234 China nuclear warheads can be counted in the hundreds. Both the US and Russia have more than 5,000.

If it not a threat to America, American should not be involved

The North Korean ambassador needs to be summoned post haste!

I'm actually beginning to think its Japan wanting the attention by continually bringing this to everyones attention. We get it, that N Korea wants that attention, and they are testing their weapons. I think we just need to get used to it, stop raising it in the news, and let the sanctions, politicians do their job. Were going to be here in 10 years still saying. Norther Korea launched a missile. and there is nothing we can do physically or militarily except prepare. Japan benefits from increasing the anxiety regarding NK.

China poses a much much bigger real military threat, and they have the BIG NUKEs and massive conventional navy, army and air force.

The launch is the fifth round of weapons tests by North Korean in the past 10 days in what was seen as an apparent response to bilateral military drills between South Korea and the United States and other training among the allies including Japan last week.

 If North Korea's ballistic missile flying over Japan was a threat to Japan, so must the joint military exercises by the U.S. and South Korea have been to North Korea with the nuclear aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan playing on a center stage.

So, this is a case of an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Something must be done to eliminate the cause of confrontation for starters.

US arms industry says "KA-CHING!"

It's best to basically ignore these launches - N. Korea's leadership won't hit Japan because they don't want war (it would mean the end of the Kim regime). Sure, an accident could happen, but fussing about the launches doesn't decrease their number, anyway.

Rodney ,it take a missiles only 12 minutes launch from anywhere in NK to reach Tokyo

@Sh1mon M4sada

Japan is an island nation, it would be unwise to have weak missile defense or weak maritime intelligence. 

Japanese are unable to develop missile defense of its own unlike Korea and must import one at a great expense, be it SM-3 or THAAD. The cost estimate for 6 THAAD battery needed to cover most of mainland Japan cost $30 billion excluding land procurement, a sum Japan is unable to afford.

So how is 'maverick' Kono the minister responsible cancelling missile defense going to 'digitize' this event? Throw some floppy disk at the incoming missile?

We all know rocket boy will always be rocket boy. The only variation is whether he launches rockets under instruction from China, Russia, or all by himself just to provoke a reaction. But also know this, one day it might be aiming at a target, and Japan won't know the difference.

Japan is an island nation, it would be unwise to have weak missile defense or weak maritime intelligence. The enemy won't necessary be coming from a convoy like Russia did when it invaded Ukraine. I'm surprised Kono is still a minister at all, after being demoted from Foreign to Defense, then Administrative, now 'digital - middle finger' minister.

I don't know what to think about Japan's democracy other than that the public popularity is not based on how well you do your job.

@TokyoJoe

That won't help if it's a nuke. Japan needs to be shooting these down routinely just to test it's tech.

Japan is unable to.

Kim is backed into a tiny corner due to sanctions. Leading a nation rife with poverty he will undoubtedly act “rashly.”

Don’t underestimate his desperation. And don’t forget he is an ally of Putin.

All of this must be stopped.

NK knows that Japan will do nothing as usual except speak very sternly.

But does such a sober, routine response only make Kim more desperate?

Fat boy is getting frisky, there needs to be some serious action to stop him from his idiocy and delusions.

Japan needs to be shooting these down routinely just to test it's tech.

On the surface, seems like a great idea, but... Kim would probably take that as an escalation and lord only knows what he would do next. If he felt that his gestures were futile and meaningless, the next time he may very well launch one directly towards Japanese soil!

Taking cover? What if it intentionally or by accident hits your cover? No, the only options are to shoot it down at an early stage and / or send afterwards a similar one on the same trajectory (of course also flying a bit longer over their territory and disappearing in their nearby sea) as fast as possible to show them a minimum or at least the real existence of defense capabilities. Or isn’t there any? One might begin to think so as not even once, after so many fired NK missiles, a single adequate response is not yet considered.

NK needs to learn how to fire missiles. It landed 3000km away from Japan in the Pacific in international waters. Hokkaido is just over the pond.

The Kaiju are active again are they? Their missle test cover story never gets old

If Rocket man keeps testing his attack capabilities, Japan should test its defense capabilities. Too late if it's a real attack only to find out that your software has a glitch.

Although it would be satisfying to shoot down all NK’s missile tests, one interceptor missile is probably several times more expensive than Kim’s missiles. If the missile is determined to be a non-threat, letting it fly its course would also allow for intelligence gathering on missile capabilities.

The interceptor missile packages come with a “trainer mode” in which the software and systems operate exactly as they would in a real situation. The only difference being there is no physical launch. I have no doubt that the US, Japan and Korea are testing and training their interceptor crews with every NK missile launch.

Launching BMD at every NK missile as a “test” as entertaining as it would be, is like “testing” your fire extinguisher every time your annoying neighbor has a BBQ.

Warning citizens to take cover. Did it pass over Tokyo, up north in Hokkaido? Maybe the Kuril islands? "Ballistic missile over Japan; some trains suspended" sounds like it went through Honshu.

More barbaric and unforgivable behaviour from Little Rocket Man.

Japan should start shooting down these missiles as a matter of policy.

If Rocket man keeps testing his attack capabilities, Japan should test its defense capabilities. Too late if it's a real attack only to find out that your software has a glitch.

The commentariat here got jokes about N. Korea until they find out one day they allowed N. Korea to get better and better until they cannot be stopped.

Kishida and Biden want a war. South Korea and the US ARE staging massive war games now very close to the North.

Give him a snickers bar! Maybe he'll calm down!

Yaaawwwwwn

who shot what?

oh, Kim and his ICBMs again?

Look, don’t ever wake me up for that crap ever again.

now let me know when the pancakes are ready, I’m going back to sleep……

Maybe he should try taking care of his people, rather than wasting money on his toys.

You again fatty, you again??..

NHK had breaking news that everybody in the country should immediately look for shelter.

But that news stayed just about 10 minutes.

Kishida’s approval rating dropped from 56% to 36% in just two weeks over Abe’s funeral and extensive links between the LDP and unification church. Suddenly on most tv channels on prime time breakfast broadcasts, it almost seemed like NK had nuked all of Hokkaido.

NK is under constant intense intimidation. How else can they react?

You know things are messed up when your country’s only savior is Dennis Rodman.

@Aly. Yes! Kim is a spoiled child who is angry that he is not getting enough attention and even might be under the threat of a coup as his aid has likely decreased due to Covid and the Ukraine war. He needs to do something to show that he is still in control on some level.

Politicians playing games. Ignore them.

You are more likely to get hit by a speeding cyclist on your way to claim your lottery jackpot win.

Well I guess that makes it easier to pass an increased defence budget.

NK is jealous of all of the attention Russia is receiving. They are also a proxy for China and now Russia. Putin may have promised them some energy supplies or food in the form of grain to keep countries guessing and to distract from the humiliation taken place in Ukraine.

One of the things that Pres. Obama and now Pres. Biden did very well was ignore lil Kim.

Japan needs to be shooting these down routinely just to test it's tech.

Agreed. The best response would be to use Kim's missiles as a laboratory for ABM tech. Interceptors , lasers, CIWS. Make something out of Kim's mottainai demonstration of rocketry.

Kim and his toys.

The Japanese government warned citizens in Hokkaido and Aomori prefectures to take cover.

That won't help if it's a nuke. Japan needs to be shooting these down routinely just to test it's tech.

NK knows that Japan will do nothing as usual except speak very sternly.

Way too much is made of these missile tests. Where else is he going send them? East into China? The Sea of Japan is the largest body of water NK has access to, so obviously missile tests will be in that direction. Of course, we have to keep a watch on him, but these articles seem aimed at stirring fear.

One of my Japanese students asked me a question the other day: Who is crazier, Putin or Kim Jung Un?

My reply: I honestly don't know. Not too long ago I'd have said Putin, but now I'm not so sure.

Article needs updating, evidently it's 3 now, if the news sites are to be believed!

again? what does fat boy kim want? attention?