October 4

Tuesday's launch of a ballistic missile was the seventh time for a North Korean projective to fly over Japan.

The previous time was just over five years ago, on September 15, 2017.

In that launch and one just before it, in August, the missiles passed over Japan's main northern island of Hokkaido before dropping into the Pacific Ocean.

Japan's Defense Ministry identified those missiles as the medium-range-class Hwasong-12. Its maximum range is about 5,000 kilometers.

The first time North Korea fired a missile over Japan was in August 1998. 

In three of the seven instances, Pyongyang gave advance notice. But Tuesday's launch was one of the four in which no notice was issued.

NHK