A Chinese military aircraft briefly entered Japan’s airspace during the morning of August 26, the Japanese Ministry of Defence has confirmed.

This prompted Japan to scramble fighter jets, according to Japanese public broadcaster NHK.

The Chinese plane, identified by Japanese officials as a Y9 intelligence-gathering aircraft, left Japan’s airspace very quickly.

The plane, Tokyo said, entered Japan’s airspace off the coast of the Danjo Islands in Goto City, part of the Nagasaki area.

This marked the first time a Chinese military aircraft was confirmed to have violated Japanese airspace – and signalled rising tensions between the countries.

Following the incident, the Japanese Ministry of Defence announced it continued monitoring and analysing the purpose of the flight.

A Defence Ministry official told NHK: “The Chinese military is stepping up its military activities at sea, including in the East China Sea. It is unclear at this stage what their intentions were this time, but we will take every precaution and maintain surveillance.”

The Y9 is a medium military transport aircraft produced by Shaanxi Aircraft Company in China.

The aircraft, which started being used by the Chinese military in 2012, is powered by four propellers and can travel at a cruise speed of 350 mph.

Tensions between China and Japan have been brewing for years. In August 2023, a spate erupted when Tokyo decided to release treated radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean. While scientists considered this move, approved by the International Atomic Energy Agency, safe, China’s anger erupted, claiming Tokyo was using the waters as its “private sewer”.

Moreover, Japan has long criticised China’s activity in the South China Sea and Beijing’s aggressivity towards Taiwan.

The relations between the two countries are also strained by territorial disputes.