With North Korea test-launching missiles on a regular basis toward Japan, towns, cities and prefectures are getting more serious about how best to respond if and when one approaches.

Parts of the Kansai region along the Sea of Japan coast appear to lie within range of the missile North Korea sent up on May 14. But the level of effort, and attention, that prefectural governments in particular are giving to what they can and should do to respond to a missile attack varies greatly.

Like most other regions of Japan, the eight prefectures (Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Hyogo, Wakayama, Tokushima, Shiga and Tottori) that belong to the Union of Kansai Governments have all listed general information, provided by the central government, about what to do in the event of a missile attack on their websites. However, as recent events have shown, there are differences in how they react to media reports, as opposed to official notifications about a launch.