Japan’s Ministry of Defence said a Chinese military aircraft had encroached into its territorial airspace on August 26, 2024.
The ministry reported that the incident occurred between 11:29 to 11:31 local time, marking the first recorded instance of China’s incursion into Japan’s airspace.
The Chinese aircraft was identified as a Y-9 reconnaissance plane that flew over the Danjo Islands, a small uninhabited Japanese island group in the East China Sea situated approximately 70 kilometers south-southwest of the Goto Islands and administratively part of the city of Goto, Nagasaki Prefecture.
In response, fighter jets were scrambled by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF).
A report by The Japan Times said that the country’s Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, Masataka Okano, summoned the charge d’affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo to the Foreign Ministry to deliver a solemn protest and “strongly requested” that the Chinese side prevent any recurrence. The Chinese diplomat stated that they would report the matter to their home country.
An April 2024 report by the Foreign Military Studies Office (FMSO) noted that China had been deploying multiple warships near the borders of its East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), an action that raised concern for Japan.
“Japan is concerned by China’s operational posture within its unilaterally established ECS ADIZ,” the report stated. “Instead of allowing freedom of navigation in international airspace recognized in international law, China is operating as if its ECS zone falls under their jurisdiction, often warning foreign aircraft within the ADIZ that it will take ‘defensive emergency measures’ if they do not leave immediately.”