TOKYO — A Russian military patrol aircraft violated Japanese airspace near Hokkaido’s Rebun Island on three separate occasions on Monday, prompting Japan’s Self-Defense Force to dispatch aircraft in an emergency response and to fire flares.

It is the first time Japan’s SDF aircraft has fired flares in “an anti-airspace violation action,” government spokesperson Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters.

The SDF fighter jets — F15 and F35 — warned the Russian military over the radio…