Most networks led with extensive reports saying that North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward the Sea of Japan at around 3:18 a.m. today. NHK said the missile reached an altitude of more than 4,000 km and fell within Japan’s EEZ, about 250 km west of Aomori Prefecture, at around 4:11 a.m. The networks said this is the first missile launch in about 10 weeks. The network said no damage has been reported as a result of the missile launch.

Top stories in national dailies included the Finance Ministry’s acknowledgement of the existence of an audio tape on a land sale deal with Moritomo Gakuen school operator (Asahi); the acknowledgement by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency that decommissioning was not considered in designing the Monju prototype fast-breeder reactor (Mainichi); a plan by the Tokyo Olympics organizing committee to launch a new council to share information with Paralympics sports associations (Yomiuri); a surge in chip businesses worldwide due to the growing demand for their use in the Internet of Things products (Nikkei); and an interview with Kim Hyon-hui, a former North Korean agent responsible for bombing Korean Air Flight 858 in 1987, who claims that Megumi Yokota is still alive (Sankei).