Photo/Illutration A flying object spotted over Kakuda, Miyagi Prefecture, on June 17. The photo was taken through an astronomical telescope. (Provided by Shigeru Endo)

The mysterious flying objects spotted between 2019 and 2021 over Japan are “strongly presumed to be Chinese unmanned surveillance balloons,” the Defense Ministry said on the evening of Feb. 14.

The central government protested to the Chinese government via a diplomatic channel, asking Beijing to confirm the presumptions and saying that airspace incursions cannot be accepted.

Balloons presumably launched from China were spotted over Kagoshima Prefecture in November 2019, Miyagi Prefecture in June 2020 and Aomori Prefecture in September 2021, according to the ministry.

The Defense Ministry will work to collect information as well as continue doing surveillance of flying objects, including foreign governments’ unmanned surveillance balloons, the ministry said.

In relation to the series of Chinese and unidentified balloons that have been spotted in the United States and Canada, Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada hinted during a news conference held earlier on Feb. 14 at the possibility of shooting down such balloons in Japan using an Air Self-Defense Force fighter jet.

“The SDF fighter jet can use its weapons, including firing an air-to-air missile,” he said.

The Japanese government has declared that if a flying object such as a balloon violates Japanese airspace, SDF fighter jets will handle the intrusion based on Article 84 of the country’s Self-Defense Forces Law.

The article allows the SDF to take necessary measures if a foreign airplane intrudes into Japanese airspace to force it to land or leave the airspace.

A Chinese balloon the United States shot down on Feb. 4 was flying overhead at 18,000 meters, higher than a commercial airliner.

The Pentagon said an F-22 fighter jet fired a short-range air-to-air missile to bring the object down.

On the other hand, the ASDF is likely to utilize one of its primary F-15 fighter aircraft to respond to such a situation.

“It depends on each situation, so it is not necessarily appropriate to suggest (the SDF’s jet) can shoot down” such an object, a person close to the ministry said.

“Considering the engine performance, it is easier for an F-22 to conduct such a high-altitude activity,” the person said.

A person close to the central government also said, “It has been pointed out that it is difficult for an F-15 fighter jet to shoot down an object flying at around 20,000 meters in the air.”

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