Japan says N.Korea rocket appears to pass over Japan

(For more on North Korea's rocket plans, click [ID:nSP469853])

TOKYO, April 5 (Reuters) - A North Korean rocket appears to have passed over Japan, the Japanese government said on Sunday, having dropped booster stages to the east and west of the country.

"The projectile launched from North Korea today appears to have passed over towards the Pacific," the prime minister's office said in a statement.

North Korea has said it was putting a satellite into space and but regional powers say Pyongyang is testing a missile designed to carry a warhead to U.S. territory.

Pyongyang said its rockets would drop booster stages to the west and east of Japan.

North Korea has only once tested the rocket, known as the Taepodong-2 missile, in 2006 when it flew for 40 seconds and then exploded.

The first stage booster earlier dropped into the Sea of Japan. (Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka and Linda Sieg; Editing by Dean Yates and Jeremy Laurence)