Violations of Japanese airspace

Violations of Japanese airspace have occurred on a number of occasions. There have been 39 cases from 1967 to 2017. The vast majority have involved Soviet aircraft during the Cold War, or Russian aircraft afterwards.

There have been several prominent cases of airspace violations.

Japan's Air Defense Identification Zone

• Viktor Belenko MiG-25 defection (September 6, 1976)[1]
• Soviet Tu-16 violation of airspace over Okinawa (December 9, 1987)[2]

In addition to actual violations there are many cases of foreign aircraft skirting Japanese airspace or entering Japan's Air Defense Identification Zone. In 2016 fighter squadrons of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) aircraft launched 851 times to intercept Chinese aircraft and 301 times in response to Russian aircraft.[3]

List of airspace violations

Number	Date	Location	Country	Aircraft type (number)
1	August 19, 1967	Rebun Island, Hokkaido	USSR	Unknown (1)
2	February 7, 1974	Rebun Island, Hokkaido	USSR	Unknown (1)
3	September 24, 1975	Shikine-jima/Kōzu-shima, Tokyo	USSR	Tu-95 (2)
4	September 6, 1976	Hokkaido	USSR	MiG-25 (1)[4]
5	September 7, 1977	Gotō Islands, Nagasaki	USSR	Tu-95 (2)
6	March 17, 1978	Tsushima Island, Nagasaki	USSR	Tu-95 (1)
7	December 5, 1978	Rebun Island, Hokkaido	USSR	Unknown (1)
8	November 15th, 1979	Senkaku Islands, Okinawa	USSR	Tu-95 (2)
9	June 29, 1980	Hegura-jima, Ishikawa	USSR	Ilyushin Il-38 (2)
10	August 18, 1980	Gotō Islands, Nagasaki	USSR	Ilyushin Il-62 (1)
11	June 6, 1981	Rebun Island, Hokkaido	USSR	Ilyushin Il-14 (1)
12	June 24, 1981	Rebun Island, Hokkaido	USSR	Unknown (1)
13	April 3, 1981	Danjogun, Nagasaki	USSR	Il-62 (1)
14	October 15, 1983	Shiretoko, Hokkaido	USSR	MiG-23? (2?)[5]
15	November 15, 1982	Okinoshima, Fukuoka	USSR	Tu-16 (1), Tu-95 (1)
16	November 12, 1983	Okinoshima, Fukuoka	USSR	Tu-16 (1)
17	November 23, 1983	Okinoshima, Fukuoka	USSR	Tu-95 (1), Tu-142 (1)
18	February 6, 1986	Rebun Island, Hokkaido	USSR	Unknown (1)[6]
19	August 27, 1987	Rebun Island, Hokkaido	USSR	Unknown (1)
20	December 9, 1987	Okinawa	USSR	Tu-16 (1)[7][8][9]
21	April 21, 1989	Rebun Island, Hokkaido	USSR	Unknown (1)
22	July 6, 1991	Nemuro Peninsula, Hokkaido	USSR	An-30
23	August 15, 1991	Rebun Island, Hokkaido	USSR	Tu-95 (2)
24	April 10, 1992	Rebun Island/Wakkanai, Hokkaido	Russia	An-12
25	May 7, 1992	Sea near Hokkaido	Russia	Unknown (1)
26	July 28, 1992	Tsushima Island, Nagasaki	Russia	Tu-154 (2)
27	August 31, 1993	Kukujima, Aomori Prefecture	Russia	Il-20 (1)
28	March 25, 1994	Senkaku Islands, Okinawa	Taiwan	Beechcraft King Air B350
29	March 23, 1995	Rebun Island, Hokkaido	Russia	MiG-31
30	February 14, 2001	Rebun Island, Hokkaido	Russia	Tu-22M (2), Tu-22(?) (2)[10]
31	April 11, 2001	Rebun Island, Hokkaido	Russia	Unknown (1)
32	April 11, 2001	Kukujima, Aomori Prefecture	Russia	Su-24
33	January 25, 2005	Rebun Island, Hokkaido	Russia	An-72
34	February 9, 2008	Izu Islands/Lot's Wife (crag), Tokyo	Russia	Tu-95 (1)[11][12][13]
35	December 13, 2012	Uotsurishima, Okinawa	China	Y-12 (1)[14][15]
36	February 7, 2013	Rishiri Island, Hokkaido	Russia	Su-27 (2)[16][17][18]
37	August 22, 2013	Okinoshima, Fukuoka	Russia	Tu-95 (2)[19][20]
38	September 15, 2015	Nemuro Peninsula, Hokkaido	Russia?	Fisheries monitoring?[21][20][22][23]
39	May 18, 2017	Senkaku Islands, Okinawa	China	Unmanned Aerial Vehicle[24][25]
40	August 29, 2024	Kyushu	China	Shaanxi Y-9

See also

• Tokyo Express (flights)

References

1. Thompson, Paul JASDF Squadron Histories - 302nd Squadron J-HangarSpace Retrieved August 14, 2017
2. Japanese Jet Warns Soviet Plane December 10, 1987 New York Times Retrieved August 14, 2017
3. Japan Air Self-Defense Force: Chinese Intercepts Down 50, Russia Up 60 Percent July 17, 2017 The Diplomat Retrieved September 20, 2017
4. The pilot who stole a secret Soviet fighter jet September 5, 2016 BBC Retrieved August 18, 2017
5. Kimura, Hiroshi Japanese-Russian Relations Under Brezhnev and Andropov page 247 Published 2000. Retrieved August 18, 2017
6. Pak, Chi Young The Korean Straits Published 1988, Retrieved August 18, 2017
7. Japanese Jet Warns Soviet Plane December 10, 1987 New York Times Retrieved August 18, 2017
8. Japan Given Apology by Soviet December 11, 1987 New York Times Retrieved August 18, 2017
9. Soviet Union apologizes to Japan over airspace violation December 16, 1987 United Press International Retrieved August 18, 2017
10. Russian military planes enter Japanese airspace February 15, 2001 Japan Times Retrieved October 2, 2017
11. Violation of Japanese Airspace by Russian Aircraft (February 9, 2008) Ministry of Defense Retrieved August 18, 2017
12. Japan Says Russian Bomber Violated Its Airspace February 10, 2008 New York Times Retrieved August 18, 2017
13. Orgs, Andrew Lee & Tatsumi, Yuki Global Security Watch - Japan page 105 Retrieved August 18, 2017
14. China's activities surrounding Japan's airspace Ministry of Defense Retrieved August 17, 2017
15. Japan increases defense budget for first time in 11 years January 7, 2013 The Hankyoreh Retrieved August 17, 2017
16. Russian fighters intrude into Japanese airspace on isle row day, spurring protest February 8, 2013 Japan Times Retrieved August 17, 2017
17. Did Russian Jets Violate Japanese Airspace? February 8, 2013 The Diplomat Retrieved August 18, 2017
18. Russian fighter jets 'breach Japan airspace' February 7, 2013 BBC Retrieved August 18, 2017
19. Japan accuses Russia of air space intrusion; Moscow denies it August 22, 2013 Reuters Retrieved August 17, 2017
20. Japan protests after ‘Russian’ plane enters airspace September 16, 2015 News Inquirer Retrieved August 17, 2017
21. Japan scrambles jets after ‘Russian’ plane enters airspace September 16, 2015 Stars and Stripes Retrieved August 17, 2017
22. Statistics on scrambles through fiscal year 2015 April 22, 2016 Ministry of Defense Retrieved August 17, 2017
23. Suspected Russian aircraft violates Japanese airspace near disputed islands September 16, 2017 San Diego Union Tribune Retrieved August 18, 2017
24. Japan scrambles jets over China drone flight near disputed islets May 18, 2017 Reuters Retrieved August 17, 2017
25. Drone spotted with Chinese ships in Japan’s territorial waters May 19, 2017 Stars and Stripes Retrieved August 17, 2017