Japan says Russian patrol aircraft violated its airspace, fighters scrambled

PHOTO CAPTION: A Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-35A Lightning II performs an aerial demonstration during Misawa Air Fest at Misawa Air Base, Japan, Sept. 8, 2024. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Andre Medina via U.S. Defense Visual Information Distribution Service)

TOKYO (Reuters) -A Russian military patrol aircraft violated Japanese airspace near Hokkaido's Rebun Island on three separate occasions on Monday, prompting Japan's Self-Defense Force to dispatch aircraft in an emergency response and to fire flares.

It is the first time Japan's SDF aircraft has fired flares in "an anti-airspace violation action", government spokesperson Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters.

The SDF fighter jets - F15 and F35 - warned the Russian military over the radio before firing the flares during the third incursion, Defence Minister Minoru Kihara told reporters.

The Japanese government has protested to Russia via diplomatic channels and demanded that it prevent any recurrence of such violations.

(Reporting by Mariko KatsumuraEditing by Gareth Jones)