Japan on Thursday downplayed an approach on Wednesday by an Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) spy plane to a disputed island controlled by South Korea.

"I suppose there is a misperception of facts. I understand that flight missions are conducted on a routine basis," Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said, according to Kyodo News.

The top government spokesman said he has heard from the Defense Agency that ASDF planes are regularly gathering information in and around Japan's airspace in a manner that does not infringe on other countries' sovereignty or international law.

Seoul said Thursday a Japanese reconnaissance plane approached the island claimed also by Japan, called Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea on Wednesday, but retreated after receiving warnings from the South Korean Air Force.