Japan plans to bolster security and monitoring measures against North Korea. It also plans to work with the United States and other countries. This comes after the North fired a missile over Japan on Tuesday.

Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and US President Joe Biden spoke by telephone later in the day. They confirmed that they will strengthen the deterrence and response capabilities of their bilateral alliance.

After the conversation, Kishida told reporters that Japan will make strong appeals and work with relevant countries at the UN.

The North Korean ballistic missile passed over the northern Japanese prefecture of Aomori on Tuesday.

It was the first time that North Korea fired a missile over Japan since September 2017.

Officials say it flew a distance of about 4,600 kilometers. Defense officials say that is a record for a North Korean missile. They believe the projectile fell into the Pacific Ocean outside Japan's Exclusive Economic Zone.

Japan is bracing for further provocative acts by North Korea. Concerns are also mounting that Pyongyang could conduct a nuclear test.

The Japanese government plans to drastically strengthen the country's defense capabilities to cope with the progress that the North has made in the development of nuclear and missile technology. The acquisition of counterstrike capabilities is being considered.