The Rakuten logo is seen in this photo taken on June 11, 2019. (Mainichi)

       TOKYO -- An emergency alert issued by the city of Fuchu in Hiroshima Prefecture on July 8 over the threat of torrential rain, ordering people to evacuate, was mistakenly also sent to the mobile phones of some people in a municipality in Tokyo with the same name, the Mainichi Shimbun has found through an inquiry to the city of Fuchu in the capital.

       In response to inquiries from residents, the city in Tokyo issued a notice on its website, saying, "No evacuation information has been issued."

       According to the Fuchu Municipal Government in Tokyo, the wrong email was sent to users of Rakuten Mobile services.

       A spokesperson for Rakuten Mobile Inc. commented, "Due to some kind of glitch, the emails were sent to the cities of Fuchu in Hiroshima Prefecture and Tokyo. We don't know how many people we've accidentally sent the wrong message to. It will take some time to determine the cause."

       (Japanese original by Shota Harumashi, Tokyo City News Department, and Haruka Kobayashi, Tokyo Bureau)

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