US’s F-16 fighter jet takes off Misawa Air Base, Japan (Photo: AFP/ VNA)

In a joint statement, the Japanese defense ministry said Japan self-defense forces and US armed forces conducted a bilateral exercise amid an increasingly severe security environment surrounding Japan.

According to the statement, the tactical air drills followed "North Korea's ICBM-class ballistic missile launch that landed within Japanese Exclusive Economic Zone in the Sea of Japan."

There are around 55,000 US military personnel stationed in Japan, most in the southern region of Okinawa, with air bases in suburban Tokyo and in the northern Aomori region.