Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Kihara expressed his intention to take all possible precautions and surveillance activities around Japan, following the fact that Russian Navy vessels sailed in the contiguous waters near Okinotorishima on the 6th.
Regarding the movement of the Russian army, the Ministry of Defense announced on the 6th that one Navy information gathering ship sailed in the contiguous zone just outside the territorial waters near Okinotorishima, the southernmost tip of Japan.
This is the first time that the Ministry of Defense has announced that Russian ships have entered the continental zone near Okinotorishima.
Navigation of the continental zone by warships is not a problem under international law, but Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Kihara said at a press conference, "Since 15th last month, several Russian naval vessels have orbited the Japanese archipelago and some of them are in Okinawa Prefecture. It is navigating in the continental zone around the Senkaku Islands, and it was announced after comprehensively considering the need to pay close attention to the movements of the Russian army. "
He said that he could not say for sure about the intention of navigation at this point, and he continued to pay close attention to the trends of the Russian army and expressed his intention to take all possible precautions and surveillance activities around Japan.