Japan Believes Chinese Spy Balloons Violated Its Airspace, Demands Answers

Members of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) bring down the Japanese national flag in the early evening, at the military Miyako camp on Miyako Island, Okinawa prefecture, Japan, on April 20, 2022. Issei Kato/Reuters

Japan’s defense ministry believes that Chinese spy balloons have violated the nation’s airspace at least three times in recent years.

Numerous balloon-like objects have been reported around the world following the United States’ shootdown of a Chinese spy balloon on Feb. 4.