Russia Antagonising Japan

Not content with their last beat-down at the hands of the Japanese, the Russians may have decided that a new century deserves a new conflict.
The Russians have been violating Japanese airspace off and on since 2001. Apparently, there was a need for just one more incursion in 2008:

Six Japanese jets scrambled Wednesday as two Russian military planes came close to Japanese airspace, a defence ministry official said here.
The two Russian planes flew close to Japanese airspace over the Sea of Japan (East Sea) from 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm (0400 to 0530 GMT), a defence ministry official told AFP, confirming Russian media reports.
'The defence ministry decided to deploy six Air Self-Defence Force planes, including F-15s, for a scramble,' she said, using officially pacifist Japan's name for its armed forces.

By: Widow 6-7