Mar 02 (NHK) - Japan's Defense Ministry says a helicopter believed to belong to Russia has violated Japanese airspace over the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido.
The ministry says a helicopter entered Japanese airspace off Nemuro Peninsula in eastern Hokkaido at around 10:23 a.m. Wednesday, Japan time.
Japanese Air Self-Defense Force fighter jets scrambled and radioed a warning. The helicopter reportedly left.
It is said to have been in Japanese airspace for less than a minute.
The Defense Ministry lodged a protest against the Russian government through diplomatic channels.
It is also trying to determine where the helicopter came from, and whether the territorial violation is linked to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The last time the ministry announced a territorial violation by an aircraft confirmed or presumed to be Russian was in September last year, when a Russian plane entered airspace around Hokkaido's Cape Shiretoko.
Source: ANNnewsCH