A Russian ship fleeing the pursuit of Russian border guard vessels took shelter in Japanese territorial waters Tuesday night, the Japan Coast Guard said Wednesday.
The 243-ton ship had put up a Japanese flag while being pursued and raised a Russian flag after it entered Japanese waters off northern Hokkaido, coast guard officials said.
The vessel sailed into Japan's waters off Hokkaido shortly before 11 p.m., while Russian border guard vessels pursuing the ship stopped outside Japan's waters, the coast guard said.
A Russian aircraft fired warning shots at the ship near Japan's waters around 3:25 p.m. Tuesday after the ship ignored orders to halt.
Despite the shots, the ship continued to sail southeast, while concealing its registration number, according to Russian authorities. They suspect the ship was engaged in illegal fishing.
The coast guard said Russian authorities informed Japan of the shooting and Japanese patrol boats later identified the fleeing ship as a Russian vessel through its registration number.
The officials said the ship's registry -- STM 17 -- indicates it had previously sailed to Japan.
Russian border guards told the Japan Coast Guard on Tuesday evening that the ship was first spotted in the Japan Sea west of the Soya Strait around 9:50 a.m., where it defied orders to stop and continued to sail southeast.
The ship was in an area that could be considered Russian waters when it was spotted, but the warning shots were fired in seas close to Japanese waters, the officials said.