Tokyo holds drill to prepare for North Korea’s missile threat
TOKYO: People huddled into an amusement park basement and a subway station in Japan’s capital and others ducked and covered their heads at a community centre Monday during a drill based on the scenario of an incoming North Korean missile.
Loudspeakers in Tokyo’s first such drill warned that the activities involved a scenario of a missile attack and urged people to shelter indoors or go underground.
“An advisory about a missile launch was just issued. Everyone, please stay calm and seek shelter in the basement. Those who are already indoors, please stay there,” an announcement at the Tokyo Dome amusement park said. A security guard ran across the complex, shouting “A missile was launched!”
The amusement park operators immediately stopped the rides. Some employees who were pretending to be park visitors marched to a basement.
More than 20 evacuation drills have been conducted around Japan since last year amid threats from North Korea, but Monday’s activity was the first missile evacuation drill in Tokyo.
North Korea has sent ballistic missiles flying over northern Japan at least twice. The North also test-launched intercontinental ballistic missiles in lofted trajectories that fell inside Japanese exclusive economic waters off the northern coasts, saying it accomplished goal of having weapons that could target the US mainland. Those launches caused no damage but raised concerns about Japan’s response.