Residents of Tokyo rushed to take shelter inside a train station on Monday during the first evacuation drill in the Japanese capital in years, amid rising concerns over the missile threats from neighboring North Korea. About 60 residents participated in the drill, which followed a series of recent missile launches by North Korea, ranging from short-range missiles and cruise missiles to large intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of striking the United States.
Some of the launches, including one where a missile flew over Japan's southern islands on August 24, triggered the Japanese early warning system (J-Alert), which allows authorities to send immediate alerts to the public via television, email, and mobile phones. However, Mitsumi Takahashi, a disaster preparedness official who helped manage the drill, noted that some people remain unaware of what to do when the J-Alert system is activated, highlighting the need for more simulations.
He added, "I think we need to continue conducting training to teach residents the correct procedures to take in the event of a missile landing or passing overhead." Japan has conducted more than 12 such drills nationwide this year, but Monday's drill was the first in Tokyo since 2018.
