Tokyo announced on Thursday that it is cooperating with Washington to reassess the nature of unidentified flying objects seen over Japan in recent years after the United States shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon.
“We communicate with the United States but refuse to comment on diplomatic exchanges,” chief government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters on Thursday.
“That being said, we are analyzing objects observed over Japan in June 2020 and September 2021, including their possible links to the case in the United States,” he added.
A mysterious flying object resembling a balloon had indeed been noticed in northern Japan in 2020. Residents had posted photos of it on social networks.
The Japan Meteorological Agency then said the balloon looked like a weather analysis aerostat, but that it did not belong to them.
The government had ruled out speculation that the aircraft belonged to a foreign state, but the affair of the Chinese balloon shot down in American skies has revived doubts about its nature.
Mr Matsuno revealed that “the government has spotted similar balloons of unknown affiliation”, including one in January 2022 which flew over the sea west of Kyushu in the south-west of the country.
“We continue to make the necessary efforts to collect and analyze (information) in cooperation with our ally,” he continued.
Earlier this week, Japan’s defense ministry said it was conducting “24-hour, 365-day-a-365 surveillance of Japanese airspace.”
But he declined to confirm whether surveillance balloons, like the Chinese balloon shot down by the United States, had been seen over Japan.
“However, when we confirm a case of airspace intrusion, we announce it appropriately. We have never confirmed or announced any violation of airspace by balloons,” the ministry responded to a question from AFP.