Just days after Hawaii incident, Japan issues false missile alert

Japan’s public broadcaster issued a false alarm about a North Korea missile heading toward the country, just days after a similar false alert was sent in Hawaii.

“North Korea appears to have launched a missile … The government urges people to take shelter inside buildings or underground,” the alert sent by NHK read, according to Reuters.

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However, the broadcaster quickly corrected the alert and issued an apology on-air for doing so, adding that “the news alert sent earlier about NK missile was a mistake. No government J alert was issued.”

The false alert in Japan took place just days after a false alarm warning of an incoming ballistic missile was sent in Hawaii, sparking mass confusion and panic across the state.

Hawaiian officials took nearly 40 minutes to correct the false alarm.

State officials said the alert was sent when an employee pushed the wrong button, and that employee has been temporarily reassigned.

“All we will say is that the individual has been temporarily reassigned within our Emergency Operations Center pending the outcome of our internal investigation,” Richard Rapoza, spokesman for the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, told NBC News. 

He added that the worker is “currently in a role that does not provide access to the warning system.”

The Federal Communications Commission has also launched an investigation into the incident.