Japan's Defense Ministry said on Thursday its fighter jets had intercepted two Russian IL-20 reconnaissance aircraft over the Pacific and Sea of Japan.
In December, Japan announced a new defense policy, unprecedented since World War II, that includes $320 billion to bolster its military capabilities and equip missiles capable of hitting China.
The new defense policy document describes neighboring China as an unprecedented strategic challenge and Russia a Japanese national security concern.
The new amendments include the right of Japanese forces to launch "counterstrikes" on countries they consider hostile, according to three conditions: that the threat to Japan or a friendly country is inevitable, that there is no other way to avoid strikes, and that the response is minimal.
The new strategy also asserts that Japan's current capabilities to shoot down potential missiles over the country's territory are not effective enough, and that any preemptive strike on an enemy state "cannot be allowed" under the constitution.
The amendments also stipulate that the defense budget will double over the next five years to account for 2% of GDP, surpassing the 1% ceiling on defense spending that Japan has adopted since 1976.
With this new defense strategy, Japan ends decades of peaceful coexistence and a commitment not to have military power, a policy that Tokyo adopted because of its World War II past and the destruction it caused in the world.