[Update on Sep. 15 at 3:35pm: Singapore’s ISD has responded to Japan’s advisory with a statement that said it has “no specific nor credible intelligence of an imminent terrorist threat to Singapore”.]

Follow us on Telegram for the latest updates: https://t.me/mothershipsg

Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has warned its citizens residing in six Southeast Asian countries of a possible attack, sending out an advisory to its embassies on Sep. 13.

The six countries are Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Myanmar, Associated Press (AP) reported.

Urged citizens to follow local news and information

In its advisory, Japan urged its citizens to pay close attention to local news and information and use caution "for the time being", AP reported.

They urged their citizens in the countries to stay away from religious facilities and crowds as they had received information on "increased risks such as suicide bombing".

According to The Vibes, an overseas safety information posted on Japan's embassy in Malaysia also urged their citizens to avoid visiting places that are "easily targeted by terrorism".

According to the alert, these places include "western-related" facilities, such as restaurants, hotels, and tourist facilities.

Countries puzzled

Responding to the advisory, several nations said that they had no information of such threats.

AP reported that a spokesperson for Thailand's Foreign Ministry said Japan had not revealed the origin of the warning and that the Japanese Embassy could not provide any further details other than that the threat was “not specific to Thailand.”

The deputy spokesman for Thai police Kissana Pathanacharoen also said their security agencies have no information about the possible threat mentioned by Japan.

Similarly, Malaysian police chief Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani said they have not received any information or detected any security threats, but will nonetheless step up its surveillance, according to BFM News.

The Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs said they were not aware of any information about an elevated threat level.

Meanwhile, Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah denied that any warning was sent to Japanese citizens in the country.

Japan's foreign ministry refused to provide the source of information or reveal whether the advisory was shared with other countries.

Follow and listen to our podcast here

Top image via Erik Eastman on Unsplash