The Defense Ministry said Thursday that the Air Self-Defense Force scrambled fighter jets 704 times in response to possible airspace violations in fiscal 2024, up by 35 from the previous year.
Of the total, scrambles against Chinese military aircraft accounted for 464, or 65.9%, down by 15. In August, Chinese military airplanes violated Japanese airspace off the Danjo Islands in Nagasaki Prefecture for the first time.
The number of Chinese drones detected by the ministry more than tripled to 30, exceeding the 26 detected between fiscal 2013, when the first Chinese drone was spotted, and fiscal 2023.
"China may have developed a system to (fully) operate drones, upgrading from trial flights," a ministry official said.
China is said to be operating drones in an increasingly wide range of areas. In fiscal 2024, a drone was spotted off Amami-Oshima Island in the southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima for the first time.
Scrambles against Russian military aircraft accounted for 237, or 33.7%, up by 63. In September, Russian aircraft entered Japanese airspace three times off Rebun Island in Hokkaido, with ASDF fighters using decoy flares as a warning for the first time.
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