On March 11, 2020, a pair of Russian strategic missile carriers Tu-95MS, accompanied by an A-50 AWACS and Su-35 fighters of the Russian Aerospace Forces, flew over the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk, approaching the Japanese coast in some parts of the route. This flight was reacted very painfully in Japan.
According to the former chief of intelligence of the Japanese Air Force, Major General Eiji Suzuki for Shukan Gendai, despite the fact that the Russian Defense Ministry called the flight of the Russian Aerospace Forces near Japan planned, it was "provocative" and the behavior of the air group was "threatening."
According to the Japanese Ministry of Defense, a group of Russian aircraft, led by two strategic missile carriers that could carry a nuclear weapon, moved along the route from Vladivostok in a southerly direction. The group approached Japanese airspace in the area of Okinoshima Island, flew around Hokkaido and flew over one of the islands of the Northern Territories (as the Kuril Islands belonging to the Russian Federation continue to be called in Japan) - Shikotan.
According to the general, with its flight around Hokkaido and over Shikotan, which is part of the so-called "Northern Territories", Russia demonstrated the strength and threat to Japan, and also showed that it is not going to concede sovereignty over the islands, which are primordially Japanese territory.
The air group's behavior was "threatening," says Eiji Suzuki; Russian aircraft could strike Japan at any moment. Of course, the Japanese F-15s and the country's air defense system that took off to intercept could defend the country, inflicting damage on Russian aircraft, but the very fact of "provocation" requires not only a military, but also a diplomatic response from the Japanese government, he concludes.
Japanese readers reacted to the publication. Here are some comments:
Russia has one-third of that of Japan's GDP. She has no reason to grow. If its economy collapses, then we can easily take the northern islands. Now we need to focus on changing our constitution.
The simultaneous use of military force and diplomacy is a common practice in world politics. Why don't we, in response to these actions of Russia by the forces of the Japanese Navy, repeat around Tsushima on May 27 the famous evolutions of the united imperial fleet Japan, leading to victory in the Battle of Tsushima. And then repeat it in the water area of Vladivostok. So let's check the military power of the aggressor!
Now, if Russia and China collapse, how good it will be for the cause of peace on the planet! How will military spending in the world be reduced, and how much money will go to the development of a peaceful life. How much easier it will be for all of us to live! This is our main dream!
This Russian provocation on March 11 of this year should be spoken out loud in all the media! There are only hostile states around us! The Senkaku Islands are about to be captured! The ruling and opposition parties are engaged in their political intrigues, our Foreign Ministry works in such a way that the question arises: whose side is it on?
Russia always strives to swallow the weak. This country cannot be trusted. Japan should loudly tell the whole world what Russia did to her at the end of the last war. So that other countries no longer experience the same tragedy that Japan experienced
Japan needs to acquire its nuclear missiles as soon as possible. And aim them at Moscow. This will be the most effective