Japan says it scrambled fighter jets for five days after China’s reconnaissance aircraft flew over East China Sea

Tokyo: Japan on Monday said that it scrambled fighter aircraft for five days after China’s reconnaissance aircraft flew over the East China Sea, local media reported.

The Japanese Defence Ministry’s Joint Staff said it detected China’s Y-9 aircraft from Thursday to Monday off the Danjo islands, west of Japan’s Kyushu, and off Okinawa’s main island in the East China Sea. The ministry said that the Chinese aircraft flew from the direction of mainland China and did not violate Japan’s airspace, Japan’s leading Kyodo News Agency reported.

The development comes amid ongoing diplomatic tensions between Tokyo and Beijing. Ties between China and Japan have been strained after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested in parliament in November 2025 that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger a response by Japan’s Self-Defence Forces (JSDF).

China considers Taiwan as part of its territory and insists on its reunification with the mainland by force if necessary.

In May, a senior Japanese official rejected the criticism of China and Russia over their claims of Japan’s “remilitarisation”, terming it “entirely unfounded,” local media reported.

Addressing a press conference, Japan’s Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Masanao Ozaki said that Tokyo wants China and Russia to “change their behaviour” on issues like Beijing’s military activities, which he called a “cause for serious concern for the international community”, and Moscow’s military action against Ukraine, Kyodo News Agency reported.

He said Japan has upheld the rule of law, values of freedom and democracy since the end of second world war and contributed to the prosperity of Asia and the world, adding that Japan’s “exclusively defence-oriented” policy remains unchanged.

His statement came after Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin slammed Japan for its “current course toward accelerated remilitarisation”, which they said poses “a serious threat” to regional peace and stability, according to the joint statement released after their meeting.

They also voiced concerns about “extreme provocations” by Japan’s “right-wing forces”, including pushing for introducing changes to the country’s three nuclear principles that prohibit Japan from having, producing or allowing the introduction of nuclear weapons.

IANS