Tensions in the Land of the Rising Sun. Two Russian reconnaissance planes flew over the Japanese coast, one over the Pacific Ocean and the other in the Sea of Japan, the Japanese army general staff said Thursday in a brief statement. As a result, Tokyo took off a patrol of fighter jets to secure its airspace.
This incident comes a few days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attended the G7 summit in Hiroshima, western Japan, during which all members of this group reaffirmed their support for Kiev in the face of the Russian invasion. Japan has been implementing economic and financial sanctions against Russia by the G7 and other Western countries since the start of its offensive in Ukraine 15 months ago.
Japan sees Russia as a threat
Already, in May 2022, Russian and Chinese fighter jets had flown together near Japan just after a meeting in Tokyo of the leaders of the "Quad", an informal Asia-Pacific security alliance bringing together the United States, Japan, Australia and India. And more recently, Russia has conducted military maneuvers in the Sea of Japan that have involved missile launches.
While Tokyo had sought in the past to improve relations with Moscow, Japan now views Russian military power in the Far East and its cooperation with China as a serious threat to the security of its territory.
" READ ALSO Defense: Japan, the United Kingdom and Italy are working on a new fighter jet
Before the war in Ukraine, Japan already had complicated relations with Russia. Moscow now considers Japan a "hostile" country, like all the countries of the European Union, the United States and other of its allies such as the United Kingdom and Australia. The two countries did not sign a peace treaty after World War II, as all efforts to do so were blocked by a territorial dispute over the South Kuril Islands, which Japan called the "Northern Territories", which Japan called the "Northern Territories".
