When a foreign balloon or other aerial object intrudes into Japanese airspace, the use of weapons by the Self-Defense Forces to bring down the object will soon be allowed, according to sources.
The government intends to relax the criteria for the use of weapons by changing the interpretation of the Self-Defense Forces Law. The aim is to make it clear that even if such a case does not fall under self-defense or other categories as stated in the law, the SDF can shoot down the object if certain conditions are met, the sources said.
Prompting the reinterpretation is the Defense Ministry's announcement Tuesday that at least three objects thought to be unmanned reconnaissance balloons from China had flown into Japanese airspace since 2019.
