TOKYO (AP) — Japan's top government spokesperson said Tuesday a Chinese military aircraft had briefly entered Japanese airspace the day before, calling the incident an “absolutely unacceptable” territorial violation and safety threat.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said that a Chinese Y-9 reconnaissance plane briefly entered Japan's southwestern airspace Monday, forcing its military to scramble fighter jets. He added that it was the first time the Japanese Self Defense Force detected a Chinese military aircraft in Japan's airspace.
“The Chinese military aircraft's incursion into Japan's airspace not only is a serious violation of our territorial rights but also a safety threat,” Hayashi told a regular news conference. “We found it absolutely unacceptable.”
The Chinese Y-9 reconnaissance plane circled above Danjo Island off the southwestern coast of Japan’s main southern island of Kyushu for two minutes, the Joint Staff of the Japanese Self Defense Force said late Monday, adding that officials were analyzing the latest Chinese military activity.
The Joint Staff said Japan scrambled fighter jets and warned the Chinese plane to leave.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian on Tuesday said China has “no intention” to violate any country’s airspace, adding that “the competent Chinese authorities are learning and verifying the situation.”
Hayashi stressed that China's military activity around Japan in recent years has become “increasingly expanding and intensifying.” Hayashi said Japan will continue watching Chinese military activity and do its utmost to respond to possible anti-airspace violations.
The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Masataka Okano summoned acting Chinese Ambassador Shi Yong to strongly protest the airspace violation. Okano also demanded that China take steps to avoid such incidents.
According to Japan's military, it scrambled jets nearly 669 times between April 2023 and March 2024, about 70% of the time against Chinese military aircraft, though that did not include airspace violations.
Japanese defense officials are increasingly concerned about growing military cooperation between the Chinese and Russian air forces, and China's increasingly assertive activity around Japanese waters and airspace. It led Tokyo to significantly reinforce defenses of southwestern Japan, including remote islands that are considered key to Japan's defense strategy in the region.
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi speaks during a press conference at the prime minister’s office in Tokyo, Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024. (Kyodo News via AP)
This photo provided by Japan's Ministry of Defense shows a Chinese Y-9 reconnaissance plane Monday, Aug. 26, 2024. The Chinese Y-9 reconnaissance plane came from China, and violated the Japanese airspace above the Danjo Island off the southwestern coast of Japan's southern main island of Kyushu on Monday for two minutes while circling around the area, the Joint Staff said.(Japan's Ministry of Defense via AP)
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are rising closer to their record levels Friday as they finish out their fourth winning week in the last five.
The S&P 500 was 0.3% higher in early trading and just 1% below its all-time high set in July. It's roared to claw back almost all its losses from last week, which was its worst in nearly 18 months.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 161 points, or 0.4%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.2% higher.
Technology stocks have been the market’s main drivers this week, particularly Nvidia and other big technology stocks that struggled earlier this summer on concerns their prices had shot too high in the frenzy around artificial intelligence.
Technology giant Oracle helped drive Friday’s gains after giving long-term financial forecasts that analysts said topped their expectations. The software company climbed 6.1% to cap a strong week that began with a better-than-expected profit report for the latest quarter. Oracle is on pace for a nearly 21% gain this week, which would be its best in more than two decades.
Stocks were also getting support from the bond market, where Treasury yields were easing ahead of next week’s meeting of the Federal Reserve. The consensus expectation is that the Fed will deliver the first cut to interest rates in more than four years.
Inflation has slowed from its peak two summers ago, which is encouraging the Federal Reserve to turn more focus to the slowing job market and economy. It looks set to lower the federal funds rate, which has been sitting at a two-decade high for more than a year.
Lower rates can help relieve pressure on the economy by making it easier to borrow money, but they can also give inflation more fuel. Reports earlier this week on inflation showed some underlying upward pressure may remain, which initially pushed many traders to ratchet back their expectations for the Fed’s move next week.
On Friday, though, traders were seeing nearly a coin flip’s chance that the Fed could deliver a large cut of half of a percentage point, instead of the more traditional quarter of a point, according to data from CME Group. The federal funds rate is currently sitting in range of 5.25% to 5.50%.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 3.65% from 3.68% late Thursday. The two-year yield, which more closely tracks expectations for Fed action, fell to 3.57% from 3.65%.
On Wall Street, home-furnishings company RH jumped 20.9% after reporting stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than expected. The company said demand has been gaining momentum each month “despite operating in the most challenging housing market in three decades.”
They helped offset a 1.4% drop for Boeing, as aircraft assembly workers walked off the job early Friday. Union members voted overwhelmingly to go on strike and reject the troubled aerospace giant’s tentative contract that would have increased wages by 25% over four years.
Adobe fell 9.3%, even though the company also reported better profit for the latest quarter than expected. Analysts said investors were more focused on its financial forecasts for the current quarter, where some trends looked to be falling short of expectations.
In stock markets abroad, indexes were higher in Europe after finishing mixed in Asia.
AP Writers Matt Ott and Zimo Zhong contributed.
FILE - American flags hang on the front of the New York Stock Exchange on Sept. 11, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)
People stand in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A person stands in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
People walk in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
