By Kyoko HASEGAWA, Hiroshi HIYAMA
Take cover in a sturdy building or get underground.
That's the emergency advice given to the Japanese people in the event of a North Korean missile strike.
But there are two big problems: most Japanese homes are made of wood and lack a basement. In the countryside, there is often no building made of concrete.
And with only a matter of minutes from launch to impact, there's simply no time to take cover.
As North Korea this week fired its second missile over Japan in less than a month and threatened to "sink" the country into the sea with nuclear weapons, many Japanese feel a sense of helplessness in the face of the threat from Pyongyang.
Sushi chef Isamu Oya, 67, who runs a restaurant in the small fishing town of Erimo, right under the flightpath of Friday's missile, summed up the feelings of many.
"The government told us to take cover in a stable building or underground, but there isn't one here. We have no choice but just do nothing.
"Scary? Yes, but we can't help it."
Read the full story at SpaceDaily