Japan sets up parliamentary group to probe UFO sightings, move research into mainstream

The group says it will push for the government to track and investigate data on unidentified aerial phenomena, which could be potential security threats

Despite Japan’s reputation of being a hotbed of UFO sightings, the public is less enthusiastic about the initiative, saying politicians ‘have nothing better to do’

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A statue resembling an alien in Iinomachi district in Fukushima. Japan has a reputation of being a hotbed of UFO sightings. Photo: X/info_ufo

Published: 8:48am, 30 May 2024Updated: 1:00pm, 30 May 2024

A new Japanese parliamentary group, featuring a number of senior politicians including a potential future prime minister, has been formed to probe UFO sightings with the aim of moving research into the mysterious phenomenon more towards the mainstream.

The Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Clarification League for Security-Oriented National Security will be officially founded at a meeting in the Diet on June 6. The group will be chaired by Yasukazu Hamada, head of parliamentary affairs for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, while Shinjiro Koizumi, a former environment minister who has been tipped to be a future prime minister, will serve as the secretary general.

Former defence minister Shigeru Ishiba will be an adviser to the panel, which will also include Kei Endo, chair of the Japan Restoration Party in the House of Representatives, and Diet member Yoshiharu Asakawa.

At a press conference to announce the creation of the group, both Endo and Asakawa claimed to have seen UFOs – or unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) – themselves.

Former environment minister Shinjiro Koizumi will serve as secretary general of the new Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Clarification League for Security-Oriented National Security. Photo: Reuters

The group said it would push for the government to track and investigate UAP data, as well as share their information with the United States. The group’s founding statement said UAPs could be weapons or spy drones that used unknown cutting-edge technologies, making them major potential threats to national security.