TOKYO (Reuters) -&nbsp;Japan&nbsp;told&nbsp;China&nbsp;that&nbsp;violations of its&nbsp;airspace&nbsp;by uncrewed surveillance&nbsp;balloons&nbsp;were absolutely&nbsp;unacceptable, a&nbsp;spokesman&nbsp;for the government said on Wednesday.
Japan's Defence Ministry said on Tuesday that it "strongly suspects" Chinese surveillance&nbsp;balloons&nbsp;had entered&nbsp;Japanese territory at least three times since 2019.
"As a result of further investigation of specific balloon-shaped flying objects that were confirmed in&nbsp;Japan's&nbsp;airspace&nbsp;in the past, it is strongly suspected that they were unmanned surveillance&nbsp;balloons&nbsp;from&nbsp;China," Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno&nbsp;told&nbsp;reporters.
Japan's government is considering relaxing requirements on the use of weapons to defend against intrusions of its&nbsp;airspace, the Kyodo news agency reported on Wednesday.
Attention to past intrusions of&nbsp;Japan's&nbsp;airspace&nbsp;has heightened since the United States shot down a Chinese balloon this month and briefed officials from 40 nations about the object.
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(Reporting by Rocky Swift; Editing by Tom Hogue and Gerry Doyle)

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Japan told China violation of airspace by balloons is unacceptable -spokesman