Another false missile alert issued: This time it's in Japan

Japan's public broadcaster, NHK, issued an emergency alert on Tuesday urging citizens to seek immediate shelter from a missile fired at the island by North Korea.

Several minutes later, NHK retracted the warning, which went out just before 7 p.m. local time. It also issued corrections across multiple platforms and deleted a tweet that it sent.

The mistaken warning came just days after a similar error on Saturday in Hawaii that caused mass confusion and sent people into a panic across the state.

What did the alert say?

"North Korea appears to have fired a missile," the NHK alert warned, according to ABC News. "The government: Seek shelter inside buildings and basements."

What or who is to blame?

"A switching error is to blame," NHK said in a statement on its website, but it did not elaborate further.

The broadcaster offered repeated apologies for the blunder on its website and on-air.

What else?

Tensions are high in Japan following North Korea's nuclear missile tests last year.

Residents woke to sirens and warnings that advised people to take cover on August 28 when the communist-led country fired a missile over the Japanese island of Hokkaido.

NHK reported that Japan didn't make any attempt to shoot the missile down.

After the missile launch, President Donald Trump warned North Korea that Japan has the full support of the U.S.