"After further analysis of specific balloon-shaped flying objects previously identified in Japanese airspace, including those in November 2019, June 2020 and September 2021, we have concluded that the balloons are strongly presumed to be unmanned reconnaissance balloons flown by China," the ministry said in a statement late Tuesday.
It said it had "strongly demanded China's government confirm the facts" of the incident and "that such a situation not occur again in the future".
"Violations of airspace by foreign unmanned reconnaissance balloons and other means are totally unacceptable," it added.
Beijing hit back on Wednesday, saying Japan lacked proof.
"Japan is making groundless accusations and smearing China without conclusive evidence. We are resolutely opposed to that," foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters.
Japanese media said government officials were weighing relaxing rules on shooting down aerial objects that violate its airspace.
At the moment, weapons can only be used in case of a clear and present danger, Kyodo news agency reported.
"This case, I think, raises worries for us that may be a huge hole in Japan's defence," ruling-party security policy chief and former defence minister Itsunori Onodera told a meeting Wednesday.
Japan said last week it was re-analysing a series of incidents involving unidentified aerial objects in light of a Chinese spy balloon shot down by the United States after crossing US territory.
In the wake of the incident, the US military adjusted radar settings to detect smaller objects and discovered three more unidentified craft that President Joe Biden ordered shot down -- one over Alaska, another over Canada and the third over Lake Huron off Michigan.
Oops -- US jet pilot misses mystery object with first missile
Washington (AFP) Feb 14, 2023 -
It was more "oops" than "Top Gun" when a US fighter pilot roared up to fire a nearly half-million-dollar Sidewinder missile at a mysterious unarmed object in the sky over Lake Huron -- and missed.
US officials admit the would-be ace needed a second shot with one of the air-to-air missiles, which cost at least $400,000 a pop, when engaging the unidentified aerial object from an F-16 fighter Sunday above the sprawling lake on the US-Canada border.
"We're aware that the first missile fired, that the one on Sunday, missed and it has been reported to us that it went directly into the lake," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.
Authorities are currently scouring the remote area for remnants of the eventually destroyed target, one of three unidentified aerial objects brought down in the space of three days.
That unprecedented spate of action followed an even higher profile downing of a large Chinese balloon over the Atlantic coast on February 4. Washington says that was part of a global Chinese spying program, but Beijing insists the craft was merely collecting weather data.
The AIM-9X Sidewinder is described by its manufacturer Raytheon as a "triple-threat missile that can be used for air-to-air engagements, surface-attack and surface-launch missions."
Top US commander, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley, said the stray rocket "landed harmlessly in the water of Lake Huron."
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