Japan's public broadcaster accidentally raised the alarm about a North Korea missile test

Wong Maye-E/AP

Kim Jong-un.

• Japan's public broadcaster raised a false alarm about a North Korean missile test.
• It comes just days after a similar mistake in Hawaii.
• Japan has been preparing for an attack from North Korea.

Japan's public broadcaster NHK issued a false alarm about a North Korea missile test.

The broadcaster sent a push alert to users of its disaster prevention app, warning of them of an imminent launch from Kim Jong-un's regime.

But soon after, NHK said the warning was raised incorrectly and it apologised. The error was spotted by The Japan Times and The Wall Street Journal's Japan editor Alastair Gale.

It comes after the people of Hawaii received a false alarm on Saturday, warning of an inbound ballistic missile. It was apparently caused by an employee at Hawaii's Emergency Management Agency pushing the "wrong button" by accident.

The false alarm in Japan is a sign of increased tension over North Korea's military aggression. Pyongyang fired intercontinental ballistic missile's towards Japan and fired missiles over Japan's territory in 2017.

Japan has since signaled its intention to shoot down the tests if they present a threat. Japanese people have also been conducting nuclear attack drills.