Japan Canceled Plan to Refuel S. Korean Air Force Planes at Japan Base, as They Flew Around Takeshima Island, Sources Says

By Masashi Yamaguchi and Takahito Higuchi / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers

6:00 JST, November 3, 2025

The Japanese governments canceled a plan to refuel South Korean Air Force planes at a Self-Defense Forces base because some of the planes had flown around Takeshima Island in Shimane Prefecture, according to government sources.

The plan, part of bilateral defense cooperation, would have been a first-of-its-kind action between the two countries.

The planes were scheduled to be refueled at Naha Base in early November, but the Japanese government decided to cancel the plan after learning in late October about the flight around the island, which is Japanese territory occupied by South Korea.

The decision to cancel was made just prior to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s first summit meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday.

The prime minister was initially adamant about realizing the plan after the summit, as she and Lee had agreed on a policy of building a future-oriented relationship between their two countries.

However, Takaichi finally gave up on the plan after many in the government voiced objections, saying that obtaining the public’s understanding would be difficult in this case.

The planes in question are part of the Black Eagles, the South Korean Air Force’s flight display team.

South Korea made the refueling request to Japan.

The planes would have made a stopover in Okinawa Prefecture later this month before the team participated in an air show in the Middle East.

The SDF and the South Korean military have not signed an Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA), which would allow for the smooth, mutual provision of supplies between the two countries.

Japan, therefore, had prepared for the refueling based on a stipulation in the Self-Defense Forces Law about lending fuel free of charge.

In response to protests from Japan over the flights near the island, the South Korean side explained that the planes had been preparing for the air show.

In Japan, the refueling was expected to provide a boost to the two countries’ bilateral defense cooperation, leading to the eventual signing of an ACSA, among other outcomes.

The Japanese government also considered the plan to be an opportunity to reduce the South Korean public’s repudiation of the SDF, stemming from Japan’s former colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.

“It was very regrettable,” said a Japanese government source. “Though we will never compromise on the territorial issue, we will continue to make efforts to strengthen the relationship [with South Korea].”

Meanwhile, Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi held his first meeting with South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-Back in Malaysia on Saturday, and the two agreed to hold regular meetings between their defense authorities and facilitate personnel exchange.

The ministers also shared their concerns about North Korea’s nuclear weapon development, as well as the country’s alignment with Russia, and confirmed that Japan and South Korea will closely cooperate on the issues.