North Korea announced on Nov. 22 that a military reconnaissance satellite launched the previous day will officially begin its mission on Dec. 1, following a seven to 10-day fine-tuning process.
North Korea fired a missile shortly before its pre-announced satellite launch window, prompting a warning for residents in Japan's southwestern prefecture of Okinawa to take shelter as it flew over the Pacific Ocean.
Only 4 percent of emergency evacuation sites designated by local governments in Japan as missile shelters are located underground, with the figure reflecting a lack of buildings with basements in regional areas, a Kyodo News survey shows
Japan will upgrade its J-Alert early warning system by next summer after it malfunctioned in October when North Korea launched a ballistic missile over the archipelago for the first time in five years, , the Cabinet Secretariat says.
Japan is considering buying up to about 500 Tomahawk cruise missiles from the United States until around fiscal 2027, as Tokyo aims to obtain an enemy base strike capability, a government source says.