Japan's Self-Defense Forces (SDF) have been issued with new protocols for what they should do when encountering
an unidentified flying object (UFO) that could potentially pose a threat to national security.
Former Defense Minister Taro Kono told a press conference earlier in September that members of the military need to make a visual recording of any unexplained phenomena they encounter and that the footage must be analyzed to the fullest extent.
The military is also being tasked with looking into reports of UFO sightings from the public.
The announcement was one of Kono's last acts as defense minister before Japan's
government reshuffled ministerial positions in mid-September.
Kono has in the past expressed skepticism over the existence of alien craft from outer space visiting Earth, telling a press conference in April: "Frankly speaking, I don’t believe in UFOs."
Nevertheless, the issue was brought up when Kono met with US Defense Secretary Mark Esper in Guam in late August for a regularly scheduled talk on regional security issues.
The US side is understood to be keen to collaborate with Japan on UFOs, particularly after the Pentagon released three video clips in April captured by US pilots that apparently show "unidentified aerial phenomena."
In 2008, 'The Science of Aliens' museum exhibit in Tokyo featured a model depicting an 'alien autopsy'
Read more: The US Pentagon's secret investigation into UFOs
The footage had already been circulating online, and US authorities have confirmed that they have been unable to positively identify the objects in the clips.
This newspaper image shows a UFO over northern Japan in June 2020
"There are alternative explanations to at least some of these sightings," Jun Okumura, an analyst at the Meiji Institute for Global Affairs, told DW.
"Just as some crimes are 'unsolved,' some flying objects are 'unidentified' until they can be identified. And then they are no longer UFOs."
UFO enthusiast Sullivan said he has had countless interactions with Japanese who have sighted UFOs and are keen to know more about unexplained phenomenon.
There are numerous "sky-watching" events across the country for people who believe Japan is destination for intelligent life forms from outer space.
"Japan is one of the very few places in the world where four tectonic plates meet and there is a high level of volcanic activity," said Sullivan, claiming that UFO activity is often found around volcanoes.
Sullivan hopes that military personnel who may have been reluctant to report an encounter with a UFO for fear of being ridiculed will now be able to follow the official protocols and the data will be revealed to a wider audience.
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