Japan Probes Previous Aerial Objects Over Country After US Downed Chinese Balloon

Japan on Thursday said it was probing several instances when unidentified aerial objects were spotted over the country in past years. The move comes after the U.S. shot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon.

"We are communicating with the U.S. but we decline to comment on diplomatic exchanges," chief government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters Thursday, according to the Defense Post.

"Having said that, we are analyzing objects observed above Japan in June 2020 and September 2021, including any links to the case in the U. S."

In June 2020, Japan spotted a mysterious balloon-like object over its northern region. Locals shared images of the object on social media.

Japan's meteorological agency then said the balloon resembled a weather-monitoring device. However, it did not belong to their country.

At the time, the government did not pay much heed to suggestions that it might belong to a foreign country. However, the recent event led Japan to analyze those images.

Matsuno also revealed that "the government has spotted similar balloons whose affiliation are unknown," including in January 2022 over the sea west of Kyushu, in southwestern Japan.

"We continue to make the utmost efforts to collect and analyze (information) in cooperation with our ally," he said.

Japan's defense ministry said earlier this week that it conducted "24-hour, 365-day surveillance of the airspace over Japan."

"However, when we confirm a case of airspace invasion, we make announcements appropriately. We have never confirmed or made an announcement on any airspace violation by balloons," the ministry said in response to a question by AFP, Japan Times reported.

After the U.S. Department of Defence's fighter jets brought down the balloon over its territorial waters, China's foreign ministry raised concerns over the actions. It expressed "strong dissatisfaction and protest against the US's use of force to attack civilian unmanned aircraft."

In a Pentagon statement a senior U.S. defense official said that "while we took all necessary steps to protect against the PRC [China] surveillance balloon's collection of sensitive information, the surveillance balloon's overflight of US territory was of intelligence value to us."

"We were able to study and scrutinize the balloon and its equipment, which has been valuable," the official added.