Japan protested North Korea's launch of a rocket Wednesday and was convening its security council to analyze the situation but urging calm.

Government spokesman Osamu Fujimura said the rocket was fired at 9:49 a.m. (0049GMT) and that debris landed in seas off the Korean Peninsula and the Philippines.

The government was still confirming if there was any damage on Japanese territory from the launch, he said.

``Please go about your daily lives calmly,'' Fujimura said. He said the government was doing everything possible to ensure national security.

``We had strongly urged North Korea to refrain from the launch, but they went ahead nonetheless. This is completely unacceptable,'' he said. (AP)