Japanese military planes have flown into China's new air zone: Japan official

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese military airplanes have conducted routine surveillance missions over disputed islands in the East China Sea without informing China, despite Beijing establishing a new airspace defense zone in the area this week, a top Japanese government official said on Thursday. "They are carrying out surveillance activity as before in the East China Sea, including the zone," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a regular news conference, adding that there had been no particular response from China. "We are not going to change this (activity) out of consideration to China," he added. The area is routinely patrolled by Japanese naval ships and P-3C aircraft, Suga said. (Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Edmund Klamann)