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For more news & videos visit ☛english.ntdtv.com Japan says it launched jet fighters when Russian planes were detected over the Sea of Japan during US-Japan military exercises. Tensions between Japan and Russia have been on the rise over disputed ownership of islands in the Sea of Japan. Japan says it launched fighter jets on Monday when Russian patrol planes entered airspace above the Sea of Japan. Nearby military drills between the US and Japan were put on hold as a result. [Yoshito Sengoku, Chief Cabinet Secretary, Japan] "It is a fact that as part of the continuing Japan-US joint exercises, there was training taking place in the Sea of Japan on the 6th. It is also a fact that fighter jets were launched after Russian planes were detected over the Sea of Japan near Japan's Noto Peninsula." Ties between Japan and Russia have been strained since Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's visit in November to one of four islands claimed by both countries, infuriating Tokyo. Japan's Foreign Minister viewed the islands from a plane last Saturday, and some Japanese media speculated that the Russian action could have been in response to the move. Japanese Vice Defense Minister Jun Azumi said on Wednesday Japan's armed forces need to upgrade the country's defense capability in the Southwest, where it shares a maritime border with China. [Jun Azumi, Vice Defense Minister, Japan]: "In the new defense program, we mapped out the importance of our armed forces mobility for the first time <b>...</b>