Japan protests after a Chinese military aircraft locks its radar on Japanese jets

Japan said early Sunday that it has protested to China after a military jet that took off from the Chinese carrier Liaoning locked its radar on Japanese fighter jets near the southern island of Okinawa, the latest spat between the two countries whose ties have plunged recently over the Japanese leader’s Taiwan remarks.

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Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, center, speaks to the media, as Japan announced that a Chinese military aircraft locked its radar on Japanese jets, at the ministry in Tokyo, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (Kyodo News via AP)

(Kyodo News via AP)

Japan’s Defense Ministry said China’s military aircraft J-15 “intermittently” targeted its radar at Japanese F-15 fighter jets on two occasions Saturday — for about three minutes in the late afternoon and for about 30 minutes in the evening.

The radar lock by the Chinese aircraft was detected by different Japanese fighters that had scrambled against a possible airspace violation by China, according to the ministry.

There was no breach of Japanese airspace, and no injury or damage was reported from the incident.