"It appears the ballistic missile fired by North Korea landed within Japan's EEZ, west of Hokkaido," Kishida told reporters.

Japan's deputy defence minister Toshiro Ino earlier said the missile was expected to land about 200 kilometres (125 miles) west of Oshima island in northern Japan's Hokkaido at approximately 6:27 pm (0927 GMT).

Kishida said he had "instructed (officials) to provide information to the public and thoroughly check the safety situation".

Last November, a missile fired by Pyongyang was also believed to have landed in Japan's EEZ as North Korea carried out an unprecedented volley of launches.