TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Japanese government announced on Thursday (Aug. 4) that five ballistic missiles launched by China landed in Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) that day and four had flown over Taiwan.

The Japanese Defense Ministry said that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) fired nine missiles, of which five landed in Japan's EEZ. Of these five, the ministry said that four had flown over Taipei City.

According to the ministry, the PLA launched its first missile from the coast of Fujian Province at 2:56 p.m., Japan time, and flew a distance of 350 kilometers. The second missile was launched from a location in China that was about 700 kilometers away.

The third launch took place at 3:14 p.m. from a distance of about 500 kilometers. The fourth missile was launched at 3:57 p.m. and flew about 350 kilometers.

The fifth missile took off from the coast of Zhejiang Province at 3:57 p.m., with a flight distance of about 650 kilometers. The sixth missile lifted off at 4:05 p.m. and flew about 500 kilometers.

The seventh missile also took off at 4:05 p.m. and covered 550 kilometers. The eighth missile lifted off at 4:08 p.m. and the distance covered was 500 kilometers.

The ninth launch occurred at 4:08 p.m. and it flew about 550 kilometers. The last four missiles were fired from the coast of Fujian.

According to the report, the fifth through ninth missiles landed in Japan's EEZ, with the sixth to ninth missiles presumed to have flown over Taipei.

The first missile landed in the waters north-northwest of Okinawa Prefecture's Yonaguni Island, outside of Japans' EEZ. The second and third missiles landed in the waters southwest of Taiwan, while the fourth landed in waters north of Taiwan.

At a press conference that evening, Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said "This is a grave issue that concerns our country's national security and people's safety," reported Japan Times.

At 11 p.m. that night, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense stated that the main flight path of the ballistic missiles after the launch was outside the atmosphere and there were no hazards to Taiwan's land area under the flight path of the missiles. Therefore, the key to missile defense systems in various countries is to calculate the terminal phase, stated the ministry.

The MND issued a press release at 5:30 p.m. stating that from 1:56 p.m. to 4 p.m., the PLA launched a total of 11 Dongfeng ballistic missiles into the waters surrounding northern, southern, and eastern Taiwan in several waves. It is not clear why there is a discrepancy in the number of Chinese missiles reported fired that day by the defense ministries of Japan and Taiwan.