REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, TOKYO -- The Japanese government called on public broadcaster NHK on Wednesday to make sure a false alarm warning of a North Korean missile launch will not be repeated, with tensions still high because of the North's missile and nuclear programmes.

NHK issued an erroneous alarm on its website on Tuesday evening, saying North Korea appeared to have launched a missile and urging people to take shelter. A similar gaffe caused panic in the U.S. island state of Hawaii at the weekend.

Japan's public broadcaster put out another message on its website within five minutes correcting itself and said no government warning, known as a "J-alert", had been issued.

"The J-alert system is information of extreme importance in maintaining the security and safety of the people, so we've asked that they ensure this does not happen again," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a regular news conference.