The United States has notified Japan it will continue military exercises involving underwater explosions in waters near Japan through Wednesday, the Foreign Ministry said.
The U.S. Embassy told the ministry that the U.S. forces will conduct drills that will include underwater explosions off Tanegashima Island between 7 a.m. and midnight Friday, at a site in the East China Sea between 6 p.m. Friday and 8 p.m. Sunday, and another site in the East China Sea between 7 a.m. Monday and 2 p.m. Wednesday.
The ministry said the U.S. military will decrease the amount of explosives from 4.5 kg used in Thursday's drill to 0.9 kg in future explosions.
Despite Japanese protests, the U.S. detonated explosives in the Sea of Japan off Shimane Prefecture on Thursday. The U.S. told Japan the drill involved only one explosion, in which a mock mine was blown up.
The ministry said Thursday it has protested the drill and demanded that such exercises be called off.
The governors of Shimane, Yamaguchi and Hyogo prefectures, from which fishing boats were licensed to operate in the drill area, also protested the exercise Thursday.
The U.S. military agreed that it will not conduct similar drills if it finds Japanese fishing boats near the sites.