Suspicious Balloon Overflights of Japan Confirmed By Officials

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III hosts Japan’s Minister of Defense Yasukazu Hamada for talks at the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., Sept. 14, 2022. DoD Photo

The Japanese have had their own instances of unidentified flying objects and surveillance balloons sighted over the country in the past few years, Japan’s Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said Friday.

Hamada, a Minister of Defense press conference speaker, stated that Japan witnessed flying objects in June 2020 as well as September 2021. A patrol aircraft flying surveillance over the area, Hamada stated that the same balloon was seen in January 2022 above the high seas west Kyushu.

Hamada declined to give more details on specific instances, saying that disclosure of such infromation would reveal Japan’s intelligence gathering capabilities.

Hamada didn’t give the location, but in June 2020 in Sendai, and September 2021 Hachinohe on the main island Honshu, unidentified objects were seen in both locations. Both areas are home to a number Japanese military bases.

The Japanese defense chief stated that Japan had worked closely with the U.S. partner nation and shared information regarding the situation around Japan. He added that his Ministry could not disclose whether such sharing was done in particular instances or whether the information shared confirmed that the balloons seen around Japan were originated from China.

Earlier in a Tuesday press conference, Hamada said under both international law and Japanese laws, an unauthorized entry by a foreign balloon into Japanese airspace would be considered a violation of Japan’s airspace and aircraft of the Japan Self Defense Forces (JSDF) would be able to use weapons in such situations under Article 84 of the Self Defense Forces Law.

“As a general rule, appropriate measures will be taken when deemed necessary to protect the lives and properties of the people” He stated.

Hamada’s confirmation of suspicious balloon overflights of Japan, follows Saturday shoot down of a Chinese surveillance balloon off the coast of South Carolina by a U.S. F-22 Raptor and the ongoing recovery efforts by the U.S. Navy. Beijing officials have confirmed that the aircraft was a civilian weather balloon which was lost course.

In the meantime, TuesdayAccording to Naval Air Systems Command, the U.S. Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force representatives awarded an $8.6million foreign military sale in December 2022 Raytheon Intelligence & Space a Joint Precision Approach and Landing System unit (JPALS), for installation on the JMSDF destroyer helicopter carrier JS. Izumo (DDH-183).

JPALS allows aircrafts to approach and land on vessels at sea, while operating in all-weather conditions. According to the release it is integrated on the F-35B Lighting II Joint Strike Fighter. The system is currently being deployed on all U.S. Navy aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships along with the Royal Navy’s HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08) and the Italian Navy’s ITS Cavour (550). JPALS is deployed on Izumo in 2024. Izumo It completed the first phase of modifications to F-35s in 2021. The second phase will be completed in 2025. Its sister ship, JS Kaga (DDH-184) is currently in the first phase of modification. This phase is expected to be complete in March.

On Wednesday Japan’s Ministry of Defense announced that a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Poseidon P-8A will be stationed in Japan at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa from early February to late March to conduct surveillance and monitoring operations in support of United Nations sanctions on North Korea. Australia’s 11th air surveillance mission since 2018 was noted in the announcement.

JS Makinami (DD-112) sails in the South China Sea with USS Charleston, (LCS-) on February 5, 2023. JSMDF Photo

The South China Sea’s Nimitz Carrier Strike Group, (CSG), and Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group, (ARG) are performing separate operations. Both groups posted infographics detailing their composition and cross-tagging in posts throughout the week. This suggests that they will either link up soon or already have. The Nimitz CSG is composed of USS carriers Nimitz (CVN-68), with an embarked Carrier Air Wing 17 (CVW-17), cruiser USS Bunker Hill (CG-52) and USS destroyers Wayne E. Meyer (DDG-108, USS Chung-Hoon (DDG-93) USS Decatur (DDG-73) und USS Paul Hamilton (DDG-60). The Nimitz CSG was deployed from the West Coast Dec. 3, and cut into U.S. 7th Fleet Dec. 16. The Makin Island ARG is an amphibious assault ship USS. Makin Island (LHD-8) amphibious transport docks USS John P. Murtha (LPD-26 and USS Anchorage (LPD-223) together with the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) on board. The ARG left West Coast on Nov. 9 to deploy to the Indo-Pacific.

In the meantime, USS Littoral Combat Ship (littoral combat ship) Charleston (LCS-18) conducted tactical exercises using JMSDF destroyer JS Makinami Sunday, DD-112 in the South China Sea Makinami is in transit to the Gulf of Aden as the 44th Deployed Surface Force for Counter-Piracy Enforcement (DSPE), Japan’s ongoing rotational deployment since 2009 of a destroyer to the region for counter-piracy missions.

*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases