US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Lands in Japan Amid Heightened Tensions With China

Meanwhile, 5 Chinese missiles are said to have landed in Japan's exclusive economic zone on Thursday.

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi disembarks from a government plane at the US Yokota Air Base in Fussa on the outskirts of Tokyo on Thursday, 4 August.

(Photo: PTI)

Speaker of the United States (US) House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, landed in Japan on Thursday, 4 August, during the last leg of her ongoing Asia tour.

Pelosi is scheduled to meet Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Friday, AFP reported Japan's foreign ministry as saying. The two leaders are expected to discuss their alliance as well as issues of mutual interest.

She will also discuss global affairs with her Japanese counterpart, Hiroyuki Hosoda.

This marks the 82-year-old politician's first trip to Japan since 2015. She flew to the country from South Korea, where she paid a visit to the country's border with arch rival, North Korea.

Her visit to Japan comes days after her historic visit to Taiwan, despite vehement opposition from China. Following the visit, China had launched unprecedented military drills close to Taiwan, leading to heightened tensions in the region.

On Thursday as well, China fired multiple missiles around Taiwan as it began large-scale military sea and air drills around the island around noon.

The last time China fired missiles into Taiwanese waters was in 1996, around 26 years ago.

5 Chinese Missiles Land in Japan's EEZ

In the meantime, five ballistic missiles launched by China are said to have landed in Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ), the latter country's defence minister Nobuo Kishi said on Thursday.

"To have five Chinese missiles fall within Japan’s EEZ like this is a first. We have protested strongly through diplomatic channels," Kishi was reported as saying by Reuters.

The zone stretches 200 nautical miles from the outer limits of Japan's seas. Missiles from North Korea had also fallen in a different part of Japan's EEZ previously.

(With inputs from AFP and Reuters.)