Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1717647422884albert-antony-HWQXIYbs8PM-unsplash.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Albert Antthony, Unsplash"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left"><span id="isPasted" style="white-space:pre-wrap">Albert Antthony, Unsplash</span></span></span></span></div><p style="margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:1em;padding:0px;border:0px;-webkit- line-height:1.3;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);orphans:2;widows:2">UFO sightings should not be dismissed out of hand because they could in fact be surveillance drones or weapons, say Japanese lawmakers who launched a group on Thursday to probe the matter.</p><p style="margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:1em;padding:0px;border:0px;-webkit- line-height:1.3;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);orphans:2;widows:2">The non-partisan group, which counts former defence ministers among its 80-plus members, will urge Japan to ramp up abilities to detect and analyse unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs), more commonly known as UFOs.</p><p style="margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:1em;padding:0px;border:0px;-webkit- line-height:1.3;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);orphans:2;widows:2">Although the phenomenon is often associated with little green men in the popular imagination, it has become a hot political topic in the United States.</p><p style="margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:1em;padding:0px;border:0px;-webkit- line-height:1.3;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);orphans:2;widows:2">Washington said last year it was examining 510 UFO reports -- more than triple the number in its 2021 file -- and NASA in September said it wants to shift the conversation &quot;from sensationalism to science&quot;.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/classified-odd/07/27/23/ex-intel-officer-says-us-hiding-info-on-alien-craft" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ex-intel officer says US hiding info on alien craft</a></div><p style="margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:1em;padding:0px;border:0px;-webkit- line-height:1.3;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);orphans:2;widows:2">The Japanese parliamentarians hope to bring the domestic perception of UAPs in line with its ally&#x27;s following several scares related to suspected surveillance operations.</p><p style="margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:1em;padding:0px;border:0px;-webkit- line-height:1.3;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);orphans:2;widows:2">&quot;It is extremely irresponsible of us to be resigned to the fact that something is unknowable, and to keep turning a blind eye to the unidentified,&quot; group member and former defence minister Yasukazu Hamada said before the launch.</p><p style="margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:1em;padding:0px;border:0px;-webkit- line-height:1.3;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);orphans:2;widows:2">In an embarrassment for Japan&#x27;s defence ministry, unauthorised footage of a docked helicopter destroyer recently proliferated on Chinese social media after an apparent drone intrusion into a military facility.</p><p style="margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:1em;padding:0px;border:0px;-webkit- line-height:1.3;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);orphans:2;widows:2">And last year the ministry said it &quot;strongly presumes&quot; that flying objects sighted in Japanese skies in recent years were surveillance balloons sent by China.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/09/15/23/nasa-joins-the-still-controversial-search-for-ufos" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NASA joins the still controversial search for UFOs</a></div><p style="margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:1em;padding:0px;border:0px;-webkit- line-height:1.3;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);orphans:2;widows:2">In Japan, UFOs have long been seen as &quot;an occult matter that has nothing to do with politics&quot;, opposition lawmaker Yoshiharu Asakawa, a pivotal member of the group, has said.</p><p style="margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:1em;padding:0px;border:0px;-webkit- line-height:1.3;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);orphans:2;widows:2">But if they turn out to be &quot;cutting-edge secret weapons or spying drones in disguise, they can pose a significant threat to our nation&#x27;s security&quot;.</p><p style="margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:1em;padding:0px;border:0px;-webkit- line-height:1.3;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);orphans:2;widows:2">The US Defence Department in 2022 established the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) to investigate UAPs.</p><p style="margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:1em;padding:0px;border:0px;-webkit- line-height:1.3;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);orphans:2;widows:2">An AARO report last year designated the region stretching from western Japan to China as a &quot;hotspot&quot; for UAP sightings, based on trends between 1996 and 2023.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/multimedia/video/08/13/23/ano-ang-uaps-at-may-nakita-na-ba-sa-pilipinas" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ano ang UAPs at may nakita na ba sa Pilipinas?</a></div><p style="margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:1em;padding:0px;border:0px;-webkit- line-height:1.3;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);orphans:2;widows:2">It later concluded in a congressionally ordered 60-page review that there was no evidence of alien technology, or attempts by the US government to hide it from the public.</p><p style="margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:1em;padding:0px;border:0px;-webkit- line-height:1.3;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);orphans:2;widows:2">The Japanese lawmakers will push for the country to create an equivalent to the Pentagon&#x27;s AARO and to further boost intelligence cooperation with the United States.</p><p style="margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:1em;padding:0px;border:0px;-webkit- line-height:1.3;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);orphans:2;widows:2">Christopher Mellon, a UAP expert and former US intelligence official, will give an online talk to the group on Thursday.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/classified-odd/2024/5/20/locals-in-central-japan-near-mt-fuji-count-on-ufo-craze-for-tourism-1108" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Locals in central Japan near Mt. Fuji count on UFO craze for tourism</a></div><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><div><br/></div><div><br/></div>

<p>UFO sightings should not be dismissed out of hand because they could in fact be surveillance drones or weapons, say Japanese lawmakers who launched a group on Thursday to probe the matter.</p>

UFO sightings should not be dismissed out of hand because they could in fact be surveillance drones or weapons, say Japanese lawmakers who launched a group on Thursday to probe the matter.

Japan lawmakers probe UFO security 'threat' | ABS-CBN

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Japan lawmakers probe UFO security 'threat'

Japan lawmakers probe UFO security 'threat'

Agence France-Presse

Published Jun 06, 2024 12:23 PM PHT

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