Crisis Management Minister Bunmei Ibuki said Friday he will ask local governments in Okinawa Prefecture to instruct residents to stay indoors on the day the abandoned Russian space station Mir is expected to pass over the region.
Ibuki, concurrently chairman of the National Public Safety Commission, said there will be a 40-minute period of potential danger if the engines of the 140-ton, 33-meter Mir fail to send it plunging into the Pacific as expected around Wednesday.
"There is a very limited possibility that Mir will cause trouble to Japan, but I'll ask local governments to take measures just in case," he said.
The minister said he told government officials in charge of crisis management to be on constant alert from Tuesday to Thursday to deal with any incidents involving the 15-year-old space station.
Russia says "possibilities remain" that Mir will pass over "islands and seas southwest of Kyushu," suggesting it could fly southeast over China's east coast, the Okinawan islands and Taiwan.
To efficiently deal with any contingency, Ibuki said he has instructed the National Police Agency and the Fire and Disaster Management Agency to work with prefectural governments and other public bodies to collect information and take emergency measures.
Russia has said Mir will plunge to Earth between March 21 and 23, a day later than previously announced.