Hundreds Hurry for Cover During Tokyo’s First Missile Drill

Critics say that the North Korean threat is being exaggerated
Abe government recently approved record defense budget

Participants of a missile-attack drill gather after the drill in Tokyo, Japan, on Jan. 22, 2018. The government planned Monday’s exercise to raise awareness about taking action should a ballistic device be detected heading for the densely populated Japanese capital.Photographer: Akio Kon/Bloomberg

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By Isabel Reynolds and Emi Nobuhiro

January 22, 2018 at 5:15 AM UTC

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As a siren warned of an approaching North Korean missile, hundreds of people in central Tokyo hurried for cover in buildings and under ground.

But unlike the false alarm in Hawaii nine days earlier, this was just a drill. The government planned Monday’s exercise to raise awareness about taking action should a ballistic device be detected heading for the densely populated Japanese capital.