The Japanese government on Wednesday requested that the United Nations convene the Security Council following North Korea's rocket launch, reports said, DPA reported.
Japanese Ambassador to the UN Tsuneo Nishida said the request was made to council's current chair, Morocco, the Kyodo News agency reported.
Japan also lodged a protest with North Korea over the launch of the rocket earlier Wednesday, condemning it as a violation of UN resolutions banning Pyongyang from testing ballistic missile technology, Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said.
The launch was "unacceptable," Fujimura told reporters.