In the past we have seen how governments have relied on text messages to warn its citizens about impending danger, like a natural disaster for example. Well over in Japan it seems that text messages can also be used to warn its citizens of incoming missile strikes.
Before you get too worried, no there isn’t a war happening in Japan right now, but we guess it’s better to have a system in place in the event that something like that should ever happen, right?
The notifications are expected to be sent through the same J-Alert system used by the Japanese government to warn its citizens of natural disasters, like earthquakes, for example. Those who own feature phones or smartphones on either of Japan’s three major carriers – KDDI, Softbank, and NTT DOCOMO will be able to receive them for free.
Granted there are loudspeakers that could warn people of impending danger, we guess since we all carry our phones with us at all times, this could be a more efficient way to informing people. So why is Japan so worried about missile strikes all of a sudden? Well apparently North Korea is a country which has issued multiple threats in the past, although for the most part they were more provocative than actual threats.
However with recent incidents, one of which took place in 2010 where four South Koreans were killed, we guess Japan has decided it’s better to be safe than sorry.