Japan's Defense Ministry said Monday that a Russian military aircraft violated the country's airspace three times, prompting an Air Self-Defense Force fighter jet to fire a signal flare for the first time ever, with Tokyo lodging an "extremely stern protest" with Moscow.An IL-38 patrol plane flew over waters in the Sea of Japan north of Rebun Island in Japan's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido three times between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., and each intrusion lasted for about 30 seconds to one minute, according to the ministry.ASDF F-15 and F-35 fighter jets were scrambled and fired the signal fla…READ FULL ARTICLE
