Japan's SDF set to draw up UFO guidelines after US military releases videos: minister

TOKYO -- Japan's Self-Defense Forces (SDF) are set to formulate a response procedure in the event that its personnel encounter a UFO, Minister of Defense Taro Kono revealed at an April 28 press conference after the U.S. government released footage that appeared to show UFOs.

On April 27, the United States Department of Defense released videos showing three unidentified objects in disk and elliptical shapes as they flew above the clouds. Referring to the footage, defense minister Kono prefaced his remarks by saying, "No SDF pilot has encountered a UFO." He went on to say, "The videos have come from the US defense department, so I would like to hear the intention and the analysis behind that."

He added, "I don't really believe in UFOs." But he did divulge that the Japan Air Self-Defense Force and other groups are considering how they should respond to an encounter with one, including how to capture visual evidence and how to report the event.

The footage released by the U.S. dates to 2004 and 2015, and were taken by Air Force pilots. A statement accompanying them said the clips had been released "in order to clear up any speculations by the public on whether or not the footage that has been circulating was real, or whether or not there is more to the videos."

(Japanese original by Yusuke Tanabe, Political News Department)