Representative Yoshiharu Asakawa has questioned Defense Minister Minoru Kihara about the installation of UFO detectors developed by the US defense.

Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena were addressed at Japan's House of Representatives, during a meeting held by the Committee on Security today, April 9th.

Representative Yoshiharu Asakawa began by discussing efforts to strengthen the Japan-US alliance as well and the challenges facing Japanese defense and its modernization, amidst a backdrop of heightened tensions between its closest neighbors. Rep. Asakawa then asked whether Japan was participating in the deployment of UAP tracking platforms organized by the US army. 

Defense Minister Kihara replied that Japan was aware that the US was working on such a platform. Rep. Asakawa then asked whether Japanese defense had been made aware of the AARO report on UAP and expressed concern about the possibility that these UAP could be advanced spy platforms from rival nations. To counter this, he proposed that Japanese military bases adopt a collection system such as the one developed in the United States under the name “gremlins”.

The Defense Minister replied : 

We believe that it is essential to take all possible measures to respond to incidents that affect the security of Japan, including unidentified objects.

As I have stated in my exchanges with members of the committee, I am aware of the urgent need to identify objects of unknown origin, in case they are a new weapon or a reconnaissance aircraft from another country, and I will make steady efforts to collect and analyze information in order to fulfill the defense of Japan, and I will take all possible measures to respond to the situation.

Representative Asakawa went on to ask whether Japan's defense was capable of stopping such intrusions, citing a report of sightings near the Prime Minister's residence and the Yokosuka Air Force Base. Japanese defense officials replied that they had the means to intercept craft flying in unauthorized areas, but that they had not been able to verify the authenticity of videos and testimonies referring to such intrusions.

Mr. Asakawa ended his speech by asking the Minister of Defense to determine whether the videos were authentic for the next session.

Review by Guillaume Fournier Airaud - This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0