Two Russian fighter jets were detected off the northern island of Hokkaido. There is a dispute between Japan and Russia over a chain of Pacific islands. Russia calls the disputed islands Southern Kurils where as Japan calls them Northern Territories. These four islands are the subject of a 60-year-old dispute.

All this comes at a time when Japanese PM Shinzo was seeking a solution to the island dispute. However, Russia says that it was a normal check over the islands.

The last time a Russian fighter jet was in Japanese airspace was almost 5 years ago.

Japan is also in an island dispute with china.