What were people in Japan doing the moment the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks unfolded in America? A thread on 5ch’s “Morning Coffee” board revived those memories. Responses varied widely — some caught the live broadcast on TV by chance, others noticed something was wrong when the internet slowed to a crawl during overtime work, and some were at the arcade playing fighting games. Several people said they initially assumed the first plane was an accident, only realizing it was a terrorist attack when the second plane hit — capturing just how confusing those moments were.
What people said
1AnonymousSep 10, 2026 12:53
I happened to be watching TV Asahi and got a sinking feeling this could turn into a war.
2AnonymousSep 10, 2026 12:55
I saw the plane hit the building live on NHK.
Even the announcer was like 'Wait, what??'
4AnonymousSep 10, 2026 12:56
I remember it was right when I was thinking about heading to bed.
6AnonymousSep 10, 2026 12:58
Was working overtime.
The internet suddenly got super slow and I couldn't work, so I went home.
Turned on the TV and was floored.
7AnonymousSep 10, 2026 12:58
The American announcer actually said 'Oh my God.'
I couldn't help but laugh — like, people really say that?
8AnonymousSep 10, 2026 12:58
I was watching 'Jungle TV: Tamori's Law' (a Japanese variety show)
but partway through it switched to breaking news coverage.
9AnonymousSep 10, 2026 12:59
My memory's fuzzy on this.
I think I found out watching NHK or TV Asahi,
but there might've been a breaking news flash before that made me switch channels.
10AnonymousSep 10, 2026 12:59
Was working overtime.
At first I thought it was an accident.
Then the second plane hit and I just froze.
11AnonymousSep 10, 2026 12:59
Japan time: 9:46 PM, September 11, 2001
13AnonymousSep 10, 2026 13:00
My wife and I were watching TV saying stuff like 'Guess World War III is starting.'
14AnonymousSep 10, 2026 13:01
I remember it well because my company had an office in that building.
One of our expat staff was interviewed.
15AnonymousSep 10, 2026 13:02
They straight-up broadcast people falling from the building live.
16AnonymousSep 10, 2026 13:04
Was playing Virtua Fighter at the arcade.
Given the timing, it must've been 4 or 4evo.
17AnonymousSep 10, 2026 13:04
Did 2channel even exist back then?
20AnonymousSep 10, 2026 13:09
I thought the World Trade Center Building in Hamamatsucho (a similarly named Tokyo tower) would be next.
22AnonymousSep 10, 2026 13:10
My girlfriend came rushing in panicked, going 'Look at the TV!'
58AnonymousSep 10, 2026 14:15
Re: #22
It's made of vinyl and it can talk?!
23AnonymousSep 10, 2026 13:10
Turned on the TV and it was live — watched the second plane hit in real time.
25AnonymousSep 10, 2026 13:11
Didn't think the world was ending or anything —
felt like it was some other country's problem.
26AnonymousSep 10, 2026 13:12
Weirdly, I remember staying completely calm.
27AnonymousSep 10, 2026 13:13
The shock of the towers collapsing hit harder than the shock of the planes hitting.
28AnonymousSep 10, 2026 13:13
At first I thought 'wow, terrible pilot.'
Then the second plane hit and I knew something was seriously wrong.
When one crashed near the Pentagon, I thought, this is war.
29AnonymousSep 10, 2026 13:13
Was at a bar when a guy called in for one of the part-time staff.
She turned on the TV and that's how we found out.
30AnonymousSep 10, 2026 13:14
I actually knew that building was a symbol of America and its tallest building.
31AnonymousSep 10, 2026 13:15
In all the chaos, some nearby building mysteriously collapsed too.
61AnonymousSep 10, 2026 14:19
Re: #31
Fact is, BBC put out a breaking news flash saying 'another building has collapsed' before Building 7 actually came down.
32AnonymousSep 10, 2026 13:16
Details slowly came into focus, right?
With the first plane, I still figured it was an accident.
Then the second plane hit and it was like,
'oh, this is bad!'
Then when the Pentagon came up, it clicked — this is a terrorist attack.
33AnonymousSep 10, 2026 13:17
Was in 3rd grade.
I still remember the news footage vividly.
35AnonymousSep 10, 2026 13:18
Was still a student, so I was drinking with friends while watching the news.
36AnonymousSep 10, 2026 13:18
That was the day I swore I'd never set foot on a plane again.
37AnonymousSep 10, 2026 13:18
What was dumb about Al-Qaeda's plan was not hitting the White House first —
plus Bush wasn't even in Washington at the time.
39AnonymousSep 10, 2026 13:19
Got back from walking the dog and
News Station was airing it live.
40AnonymousSep 10, 2026 13:19
This was back before HDTV was even a thing.
42AnonymousSep 10, 2026 13:20
2001, right?
Feels like ancient history now.
Come to think of it, even 2011 feels like a long time ago now.
There are Hello! Project members born after that.
Guess I've gotten old.
43AnonymousSep 10, 2026 13:22
Remember the turn of the millennium in 2000?
I don't really remember it at all.
Wasn't there some kind of worldwide party vibe going on?
45AnonymousSep 10, 2026 13:23
Wasn't the fourth plane headed for Washington, and it crashed when the passengers tried to fight back?
46AnonymousSep 10, 2026 13:23
I remember watching the TV and immediately selling off my stocks.
47AnonymousSep 10, 2026 13:31
Planes are scary, right?
I even got airsick landing on the way back from a school trip.
51AnonymousSep 10, 2026 13:44
There had already been embassy bombings before this incident.
Bin Laden was already a well-known name too.
It was a situation where a terrorist attack on US soil could've happened any time.
53AnonymousSep 10, 2026 13:48
Think it was during the cooking segment on Jungle TV —
it cut to the news right as the second plane hit.
Background and Key Points
On the day of 9/11, the first plane struck the World Trade Center at 9:46 PM Japan time. Back then, always-on internet access wasn’t yet the norm, so most people learned about the events through live TV broadcasts or newspaper extras — a stark contrast to today’s social-media-driven information environment. One thread comment asked, “Did 2channel even exist back then?”, but 2channel was founded in 1999, so it was already around when 9/11 happened. There was also a comment claiming to have seen a breaking-news report about the collapse of Building 7 (WTC7); however, official investigations attributed that collapse to fires caused by debris, and this should be read separately from the conspiracy theories that circulated at the time. The split between people who say they watched it live and those who found out afterward also reflects how differently information traveled back then, depending on generation and individual circumstance.
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