Japan suspects China flew 3 spy balloons over territory in 2019-2021

Feb 15, 2023 | News On Japan

TOKYO - Japan's government said Tuesday that three unidentified flying objects spotted over the nation's territory in three years from 2019 are "strongly suspected" to have been Chinese spy balloons.

It is the first time Japan has made such an announcement since the United States shot down a similar Chinese spy balloon earlier this month after its incursion into U.S. airspace, according to a Defense Ministry official.

Tokyo demanded that Beijing confirm facts and prevent a recurrence, the ministry said. The government also told China that Japan would never accept any violation of its territorial skies.

The three flying objects were detected in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, in November 2019 and the northeastern prefectures of Miyagi and Aomori in June 2020 and September 2021, respectively, according to the ministry. ...continue reading

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