Russian aircraft violates Japanese airspace three times near Hokkaido

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

The Il-38 patrol aircraft violated Japanese airspace three times near Rebun Island in Hokkaido prefecture between 05:03 and 07:42 Greenwich Time - this information was provided in a communiqué by Japan's Ministry of Defence.

In response, the Self-Defence 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, said Defence Minister Minoru Kihara to reporters.

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

He emphasised 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, said Hayashi.

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.