TOKYO (HawaiiNewsNow) – At 12:40 p.m. Friday Japan time, people in Japan received an emergency alert from the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) warning they would be hit by a powerful earthquake.<\/p>\n
But it was a mistake, reminiscent of the false missile alert in Hawaii nearly a decade ago.<\/p>\n
Witnesses tell HNN their phones lit up and alarms sounded off in the streets during the busy lunch hour, warning folks to stay calm and seek shelter. <\/p>\n
Eight minutes after the first alert went out, JMA canceled the warning in an alert only in Japanese, later apologizing and blaming a system error for the false alarm.<\/p>\n
Hawaii News Now Reporter Casey Lund was taping a report in Tokyo\u2019s Akihabara neighborhood when the alarms went off, catching his reaction on camera in real time. He, along with a delegation from Hawaii, were in Japan this week for the U.S.-Japan Council conference. <\/p>\n
Witnesses said they received a text message at 12:40 p.m. from JMA in Japanese that said an earthquake occurred in the Kuril Islands near Russia. In English, it read: \u201cEarthquake Early Warning: Strong shaking is expected soon. Stay calm and seek shelter nearby.\u201d<\/p>\n
At 12:48 p.m., witnesses said they received another alert repeating the first alert in English and adding in Japanese that \u201cThe earthquake early warning issued earlier is being rescinded.\u201d<\/p>\n
State senator Troy Hashimoto was riding the train at the time with other Hawaii delegates and said they took their cue from Japanese passengers who were calm. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we got it on our phone, it just said, there\u2019s an earthquake that\u2019s going to happen soon. So we\u2019re like, oh wow, you know, we don\u2019t get advanced warning. And we didn\u2019t realize it was such a big earthquake, but I think a few minutes later, we just got another alert and it said, OK, we\u2019re withdrawing it,\u201d Hashimoto said. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut I think scary, you know, nevertheless, and I think for us because it\u2019s not something we normally see, I guess we just didn\u2019t know how to react.\u201d<\/p>\n
Oahu resident Tim Sakahara was outside his Shibuya hotel when he got the alert.<\/p>\n
\u201cShock and is this real? but I figured I\u2019m in Japan, so it probably is real. and so, you know, I started to kind of put my senses on and figure out like what am I going to do right now?\u201d he recalled. \u201cIt\u2019s a beautiful sunny day, you don\u2019t expect to get an alert for a severe earthquake and prepare to die, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
He began recording on his phone and considering his options.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy thought was, well, I\u2019m going to try to go under this tree, because if glass starts falling, maybe that\u2019s going to be a little bit better shield,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
According to reports, Japanese officials miscalculated the strength and epicenter of the earthquake.<\/p>\n
JMA initially forecast a 9.9-magnitude earthquake in the area, but in reality, a much smaller earthquake struck the Kamchatka Peninsula in eastern Russia, causing just a mild tremor for some in Japan. <\/p>\n
The quake\u2019s magnitude was actually 6.9, according to the United States Geological Survey.<\/p>\n
A tectonic incident with a 9.9-magnitude earthquake has never happened in recorded history. <\/p>\n
Witnesses said it reminded them of the false missile alert back in 2018, which was attributed to human error. <\/p>\n
\u201cEarthquake prediction isn\u2019t an exact science, maybe the Russia earthquake triggered something on Japan\u2019s network and sensors,\u201d Sakahara said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to see what the fallout is, if maybe somebody pressed instead of 6, it can be turned into a 9, who knows, but I\u2019m sure the Japanese will have an explanation and take a quick action to fix that kind of thing,\u201d Hashimoto said.<\/p>\n
An investigation is underway into the cause of the error. JMA has said a safety feature was not working properly.<\/p>\n
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