* Hagel says increased risk of misunderstanding, miscalculation

* Move is totally unacceptable, says Japan

* China says not aimed at specific country or target (Adds Japan reaction, politician, security expert comments)

By Chang-Ran Kim and Phil Stewart

TOKYO/WASHINGTON, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Japan and ally the United States sharply criticized China's move to impose new rules on airspace over islands at the heart of a territorial dispute with Tokyo, warning of an escalation into the "unexpected" if Beijing enforces the rules.

China's government-run Xinhua news agency published coordinates for a newly established "East China Sea Air Defence Identification Zone," which covers most of that sea and includes the skies over the disputed islands.

China warned that it would take "defensive emergency measures" against aircraft that failed to identify themselves properly in the airspace.

Ties between the Asian powers, the world's second and third biggest economies, have been strained for months by the dispute over the islands in the East China Sea, called the Diaoyu by China and the Senkaku by Japan. The islands are currently under Japanese administrative control.

Saturday's announcement suggests that foreign aircraft merely passing through that zone would have to follow China's procedures - or face unknown, potentially dangerous consequences.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged China to exercise caution and restraint, saying freedom of overflight was essential to stability and security in the Pacific.

"We urge China not to implement its threat to take action against aircraft that do not identify themselves or obey orders from Beijing," he said in a statement.

"We remain steadfastly committed to our allies and partners, and hope to see a more collaborative and less confrontational future in the Pacific."

A U.S.-Japan security treaty commits Washington to intervene in defense of Japan if there is an attack on Japanese-administered territory. The United States has a hefty military presence in Japan, including on the southern island of Okinawa, which is close to the disputed isles.

Tokyo lodged a strong protest through the Chinese embassy, calling the action "totally unacceptable" and warning that the overlap of the air defence identification zone could lead to an "unexpected occurrence of accidents in the airspace".

A senior diplomat in China's Tokyo embassy, Han Zhiqiang, dismissed Tokyo's protests, saying in a statement that "Japan has no right to make irresponsible remarks".

Han said the Chinese government's aim was to defend its national sovereignty and territorial airspace and was not aimed at a specific country or target. He added it did not affect the freedom to pass through the airspace.