Russian Warplane Violates Japanese Airspace over Japan-Claimed Isles

Tokyo, July 24 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Defense Ministry said Friday that an IL-20 reconnaissance aircraft of the Russian military intruded into Japanese territorial airspace over northwestern Pacific islands controlled by Moscow and claimed by Tokyo the same day. A fighter of the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force was scrambled to respond to the situation. The Russian aircraft, which came from the continent, flew to the Pacific Ocean via the Sea of Okhotsk and traveled south to areas off the northeastern Japan prefecture of Miyagi, which faces the Pacific, according to the ministry’s Joint Staff. It then flew to the Sea of Japan via the Sea of Okhotsk. A ministry official said that Japan is currently in a situation where it is virtually unable to exercise jurisdiction over the disputed islands, adding that the territorial issue needs to be resolved through diplomatic negotiations. The islands were seized by the former Soviet Union from Japan at the end of World War II and have long been claimed by the Asian nation. They are known as the Northern Territories in Japan. The territorial dispute has prevented Tokyo and Moscow from concluding a peace treaty to formally end their wartime hostilities. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]