Japan Calls for Calm After China Plane Enters Disputed Airspace

Japan said it would respond calmly after the first-ever incursion by a Chinese plane into Japanese-controlled airspace near disputed islands ratcheted up tensions days ahead of an election.

A Chinese marine surveillance propeller plane was spotted by the Coast Guard near the uninhabited islands known as the Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China. While Japan dispatched eight F-15 fighter jets, the plane had already left the area and China responded by calling the flight a normal activity in its own airspace.