by WorldTribune Staff, April 26, 2017

Millions of Japanese citizens would have only minutes to take shelter in the event of a nuclear attack by North Korea.

Officials in Tokyo — Japan’s largest city with 13.5 million residents — said there might be as little as 10 minutes to act if North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un were to send nukes flying over the Sea of Japan.

Tokyo’s officials have asked for all regional governments to sharpen their alert plans.

Osaka Mayor Hirofumi Yoshimura said the 2.6 million residents of Japan’s third-largest city might have as little as four minutes to seek cover.

“A missile may not be detected as soon as it leaves the launch pad … and that could take several minutes,” Yoshimura told the Japan Times. “The warning and alarms might only sound four or five minutes before a missile arrives.”

Japanese citizens are becoming increasingly fearful that they could be Kim Jong-Un’s first targets.

Japan’s civil defense website received 5.7 million visitors in the first 23 days of this month — a massive hike from its usual monthly traffic of less than 400,000 hits, the Washington Post reported.

Under the site’s FAQs, Japanese officials said citizens will have only minutes to act.

“When a missile is launched from North Korea, it will not take long to reach Japan,” the site said. “For example, the ballistic missile launched from (North Korea) on February 7 last year took 10 minutes to fly over Okinawa.”

In the event of an attack, a document posted on the site advises people to find the strongest concrete building possible or go underground.

They should then take cover under tables and stay away from windows, it says.

  Japanese would have only 4-5 minutes to take cover from N. Korean nuclear attack, Kim Jong-Un nuclear threat, Osaka Mayor Hirofumi Yoshimura, Tokyo 13.5 million citizens, WorldTribune.com