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Locals in central Japan near Mt. Fuji count on UFO craze for tourism

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Kyodo News

<p>KOFU, Japan — Local residents in Yamanashi Prefecture, at the foot of Mt. Fuji, are striving to make their city Kofu a tourist magnet with extraterrestrial help from an alien.</p><p>Next year marks the 50th anniversary of an incident in which two elementary school children claimed to have encountered unidentified flying objects and an alien. It is dubbed one of &quot;three major UFO incidents&quot; reported in Japan.</p><p>Radio personality Kiichi Tokutake is among a group of people organizing events to celebrate the anniversary and boost the city&#x27;s appeal. &quot;I want to make Kofu a mecca for UFO enthusiasts,&quot; he said.</p><p>Tokutake&#x27;s passion grew after he was told by a guest during his show that the UFO sighting in Kofu had recently grabbed attention among some overseas enthusiasts.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/3/9/pentagon-no-evidence-of-ufo-sightings-technology-1642">Pentagon: &#x27;No evidence&#x27; of UFO sightings, technology<br/></a></div><p>The alleged incident dates back to Feb. 23, 1975, when two boys playing near a vineyard in Kofu saw what they described as two saucer-shaped UFOs flashing in orange at around 6:30 p.m.</p><p>They said a 120- to 130-centimeter tall alien with a big head, long ears and three fangs then descended, according to Tokutake. The alien reportedly had a brown face with no eyes or nose.</p><p>The boys left the scene to call their family. When they returned, the objects started blinking and glared briefly before disappearing. Their family and local residents provided similar descriptions.</p><p>Feb. 23 is now registered as Kofu UFO Day by the Japan Anniversary Association, an organization that registers anniversaries for companies, groups and individuals.</p><p>&quot;It scared the life out of me back then,&quot; Katsuhiro Yamahata, who was one of the two boys, recalled at a February event marking the 49th year since the sighting.</p><p>Local organizers are planning to erect a monument at the site. &quot;My hope is visitors interested in the UFO (incident) will take a liking to the city of Kofu and its people,&quot; Tokutake said.</p><p>The other two sightings were reported in Kochi Prefecture in 1972 and in the country&#x27;s northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido in 1974.</p><p>Other places seeking to draw visitors with the stories of alleged UFO sightings include Hakui of Ishikawa Prefecture, central Japan, and the Iinomachi area in Fukushima in the country&#x27;s northeast.</p><p>In the United States, known for UFO-related incidents like one in Roswell, a Department of Defense report released in March concluded that there was &quot;no evidence&quot; that UFO sightings for decades represented &quot;extraterrestrial technology.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/a6TTvnPCJO8?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div>

<p>Next year marks the 50th anniversary of an incident in which two elementary school children claimed to have encountered unidentified flying objects and an alien.</p>

Next year marks the 50th anniversary of an incident in which two elementary school children claimed to have encountered unidentified flying objects and an alien.