Russian aircraft violates Japanese airspace, Tokyo protests strongly

Japanese government spokesperson Yoshimasa Hayashi said a Russian military patrol aircraft violated Japanese airspace three times on Monday near the northern prefecture of Hokkaido. Japan's armed forces fired flares in response, and Tokyo lodged a protest with Moscow.

The Il-38 patrol aircraft violated Japanese airspace three times near Rebun Island in Hokkaido prefecture between 12:03 AM and 2:42 AM Eastern Time, according to Japan's Ministry of Defense.

In response, the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) scrambled aircraft. Fighter jets F-15 and F-35 warned the Russian aircraft over the radio about the firing of flares during the third incursion, Defense Minister Minoru Kihara told reporters.

This is the first time that Japanese SDF aircraft have fired flares in a "response related to airspace violation," stated spokesperson Hayashi.

He emphasized that "this violation of national airspace is extremely regrettable."

Tokyo, through diplomatic channels, issued a "strong protest" to Moscow and called for measures to prevent a recurrence of such incidents, Hayashi said.

The spokesperson declined to answer questions regarding the intentions and objectives of the Russian military aircraft's actions but noted that "the Russian military remains active in areas surrounding our country even after the invasion of Ukraine."

Japanese authorities reported that yesterday they decided to scramble fighter jets due to a flight by a Russian aircraft between Hokkaido and Okinawa.

While the Russians did not enter Japanese airspace, as they did in 2019, this was the first case in five years of a Russian aircraft circling so close to Japanese islands.