Japan protests over N Korean missile launch; trains temporarily halted

Stopping the trains for 10 minutes must be a bit nerve racking. I wonder if this is actually a good idea.

@Speed. Great point there. All Japan did was tell North Korea, "Yes, you can rattle our cage. Yes, you can disrupt things quite easily here. Do it again and again and again." Not good at all.

More like subtle rattling sabres.

Yeah, that's how I see it too: preparing Japenese people to accept going to war with North Korea.

I'm not sure I understand the reasoning behind this policy. Would panic not ensue? How is this broadcast to the Metro passengers?

Tokyo Metro said it adopted a policy earlier this month of stopping its trains for 10 minutes when there is information that a missile which could potentially reach Japanese soil has been launched.

That is so passive-aggressive and unnecessary. It's simply to brainwash the population more into a 'shouganai, we have to go to war against NK' state of mind. If provoking NK didn't fit the ulterior motives and agendas of both Trump and Abe, we would barely hear a peep about NK's missile testing.

Lets annoy and disrupt everything in Japan to develop a hatred to NK says the JP government

Perhaps a little less rush to visit/donate to Yasukuni, push an education system that claims superiority over neighbors, eagerness to join US drills, and general bombast and it might be slightly less than 100% expected.

I believe that not a single plea ever avoided a crime from happening.

Perhaps a visit to Yasukini to pray is in order.

Stopping trains in Japan is overkill to say the least!

When a missle launched in North Korea lands in North Korea, all that is going to do is piss off and frighten the man in the street here- completely unnecessary.....,

For a nation with state of the art anti missile tech, that's too much of an exaggeration. The NK track record is completely horrible. All this will do is incite nationalistic fervor that will inevitably lead to the demands for constitution revision. May the chips fall where they may!!

Oh I'm sure Kim Yong Un is impressed by the halted trains in Japan and will now stop threatening Japan!

Toy soldiers, in a miniature dirt war. Waste of time and resources. Ridiculous actually. More war?

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told an impromptu press conference. "Japan absolutely cannot tolerate these repeated provocative acts by North Korea."

you our guys are so tough.

They launched a missile that travelled 50 km and landed on the ground in North Korea? Who cares? Let the baby have his bottle.

Meaningless Protest.

Had it crossed intentionally into International waters towards Japan, then that would have been a Provocation and worthy or Protest.

No matter if it is right or wrong , the potential of human loss of life is real. Large complex war machines with a chance of mechanical failure or human error add to a very serious situation in such close proximity in the waters of Japan.

Stopping the trains is utterly ridiculous. I want to know how and when transport companies came to this collective decision and if they were pushed into it by the government?

And if the missile was launched at 5:30 am it is too late to be stopping trains at 6:07 am anyway: if Japan was the target (and it wasn't) the missiles would already have hit.

It's clear that this is nothing more than Abe government scaremongering, whipping up hysteria and hate to suit the LDP's own narrow objectives of militarising Japan and reintroducing conscription.

When I was in Japan, they branded me all sorts of names, at one time saying that I was a NK spy and really treated me as such, they were really cruel on me to the point that my family disintegrated. Now , I'm dying to see these tough guys in action, WHERE ARE THEY? Here NK is pocking it's fingers in the Samurai's eye. Won't the Samurai do anything? especially bearing in mind how ferocious they acted on me!! Show us how brave and strong you are Japan!! And where are the " Yankee go home" choir boys?

Stopping the trains is silly. Nothing is accomplished.

It is a fact that North Korea has missiles that can reach Japan. It is not known if North Korea can couple a nuclear weapon or other form of WMD to these missiles.

It is likely North Korea is working on medium to long range ballistic missiles.

While I strongly agree stopping the subway was an over-reaction and nonsensical, I have a hard time with those seeming to indicate North Korea is not a potential threat.

Not sure I get all the barbs against Japan being posted.

Of all the years of NK conducting missile and nuclear tests, what makes this one any different? Why stop the trains? Why advertise mass buying of radiation air filters & bomb shelters? Is this a message from the government to the people to prepare for war? Why doesn't someone just come out and tell the people what's happening and stop us from second guessing and assuming what will or may happening in the near future! And "lodge a stern protest" Really!!!!! How many different ways can this guy say it?

Scrote Apr. 30 02:01 am JST

Stopping the trains is utterly ridiculous.

I thing criticizing stopping the trains is ridiculous. It makes evacuation easier to stop trains at nearest stations than stopping them at random places due to power shortage after the missile destroys the power grid and power generators. Though, they need to stop them right after the launch than 37 minutes later.

Fred Wallace Apr. 29 09:32 pm JST

For a nation with state of the art anti missile tech, that's too much of an exaggeration.

Anti-missile systems such as PAC 3 covers only 20 km radius and do not cover most part of Japan.