Two months ago, we reported that Hawaii was restoring an air raid warning system that hadn’t been operational since the Cold War. Only this time, it’s due to the rising tensions between the US and North Korea…
Indeed, these tensions nearly caused a panic last week when one employee at Hawaii’s Emergency Management Agency accidentally selected the wrong dropdown menu choice, broadcasting a “Ballistic Missile Threat” warning to the cellphones of Hawaii residents.
On Monday, Tokyo activated the government’s “J-alert” system in a drill for the public to practice their response to a missile strike, RT reported. Once activated, the system warned people to “evacuate calmly inside a building or underground.”
Video of the response showed people filing into a subway station…
Missile launch missile launch! Evacuation drill against missiles held in Tokyo subway. Details coming up on @ChannelNewsAsia pic.twitter.com/iDhJBzlhnR
— michiyo ishida (@MichiyoCNA) January 22, 2018
Around 350 people participated in the first of its kind evacuation drill, which took place in Tokyo’s Bunkyo Ward, as well as a local amusement park. People sheltered in a nearby subway station and buildings, according to local media.
Last year, North Korea memorably launched several moderate-range ballistic missiles over the Northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.
However, the exercise made some Japanese people uncomfortable: A small group of protesters denounced the drills claiming they promoted Japanese militarism. One protester told the media that the exercises merely provided the illusion of safety – in the event of a nuclear strike, nobody in the blast zone would survive.
Japan’s first-ever drills for the evacuation of Japanese civilians were conducted in March of last year in the coastal city of Oga. Japanese authorities have warned that a missile launched by North Korea could reach Japan in 10 minutes…
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