North Korea Just Launched "Satelite" (or "Missile" as the Japanese Government Alleges)

Official tweet from the Prime Minister's Official Residence:

さきほど、北朝鮮の「人工衛星」と称するミサイルが南方向に発射されました。続報が入り次第、お知らせします。

Just a short while ago, North Korea's missile, or "satellite", was launched toward southern direction. We will let you know as soon as we get more information.

Then,

先ほどのミサイル発射時刻は9時49分ごろです。

The missile was launched at about 9:49AM.

Then,

落下予測地域はフィリピンの東約300キロの太平洋上です。

It is estimated to fall on the Pacific Ocean about 300 kilometers east of the Philippines.

No, the Japanese government did not shoot it down, though it apparently flew over Okinawa.

Drama and suspense that LDP's Abe may have been hoping for are gone now. Still, his party seems to be duping enough voters and is expected to win the outright majority with the coalition partner Komei Party, who clearly enjoys being in the ruling coalition whether the main party is DPJ or LDP.

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