The government has suspended evacuation drills for North Korea's ballistic missiles that had been planned for all of Japan, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga announced Friday.
"We will keep demanding North Korea comply with the U.N. Security Council's resolution, considering the result of the U.S.-North Korea summit meeting. Based on that, drills that residents take part in are to be suspended for the time being," he said.
Drills were scheduled in nine prefectures, including Miyagi, Tochigi and Niigata, this fiscal year, according to plans laid out by the central and municipal governments. Although the government has suspended these drills, it will continue checking activation of the nationwide J-Alert early warning system, and working on communication systems for residents about what to do in the event missiles fall.
Last April, after North Korea launched ballistic missiles one after another, the government notified local governments that it was necessary to hold urgent evacuation drills on the assumption that ballistic missiles could be launched.
According to the Cabinet Secretariat, 29 drills have been organized by the central and local governments since last March, with 374 drills by local governments alone.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un promised to work toward complete denuclearization when he met with U.S. President Donald Trump on June 12. The government has concluded the need for drills has decreased because of an ease in tensions.
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