Japan’s Self-Defense Forces fired warning flares at a Russian reconnaissance plane that repeatedly violated Japanese airspace, marking the first time such measures have been used by the Japanese military. The incident occurred on Monday, and signaled a growing unease over increasing Russian and Chinese military cooperation in the region.
According to Japan’s Defense Ministry, an undisclosed number of F-15 and F-35 fighter jets were scrambled after a Russian Il-38 maritime patrol aircraft entered Japanese airspace over Rebun Island, just off the northern coast of Hokkaido. The Russian aircraft reportedly violated Japan’s airspace three times during a five-hour flight, ignoring multiple radio warnings to leave.
As the Russian plane continued to ignore the warnings, Japanese jets fired flares. This marked a first for Japan, as it had never used flares before in response to an airspace violation. Defense Minister Minoru Kihara stated that the flares were fired on the third incursion, making clear that this was a deliberate and measured response to a serious situation.
Japan’s government lodged a formal protest with Moscow over the violation. Kihara noted that this was the first publicized incident of a Russian aircraft entering Japanese airspace since 2019, and he suggested that it could be linked to joint military exercises announced by Russia and China earlier this month.
The airspace breach came just a day after a joint fleet of Chinese and Russian warships sailed close to Japan’s northern coast, raising concerns in Tokyo about the increasing military activities of its neighbors.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida urged government officials to respond “firmly and calmly” to the incident and to work closely with the United States and other allies in handling this emerging security challenge. Yoshimasa Hayashi, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary, emphasized that while the government refrains from speculating on the exact motives behind Russia’s actions, the military’s presence around Japan has noticeably increased since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
This incident is part of a broader pattern of rising military pressure on Japan. The Japan Air Self-Defense Force has scrambled jets 669 times between April 2023 and March 2024, with about 70% of these incidents involving Chinese aircraft. The growing military activities by both Russia and China have caused Tokyo to reinforce its defenses, especially in the southwestern part of the country and remote islands.
Japan and Russia have a fraught history, particularly over the Northern Territories, a group of islands seized by the Soviet Union at the end of World War II.