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Japanese UAP Investigation Office Proposal

Government

Japanese cross-party lawmakers formally proposed a dedicated Ministry of Defense UAP investigation division in May 2025.

Status — Unresolved

Disclosure Rating — 4/10

  Parliamentary league origins

Japan's Security-Focused UAP Clarification Parliamentary League (安全保障の観点から未確認異常現象を究明する議員連盟, commonly rendered 超党派UFO議連) was formally constituted on June 6, 2024, at an inaugural meeting in the National Diet building.1 Approximately 90 lawmakers joined the league. Yasukazu Hamada (LDP, former Defense Minister) was named chair, with Shinjiro Koizumi serving as secretary-general and Shigeru Ishiba — then a former Defense Minister and subsequently Prime Minister — listed as supreme adviser.2 Kei Endo of the Japan Restoration Party and Yoshiharu Asakawa were among the founding members.

The league's stated rationale was security rather than speculation: drone and suspected surveillance-balloon incursions in Japanese airspace, and the existence of the U.S. Department of Defense's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), provided the institutional framing.1 Japan's approach to aerial incidents in this period operated under Self-Defense Force protocols that were expanded following North Korean balloon incursions rather than any UAP-specific authority.

  The May 2025 proposal to the Defense Minister

On May 16, 2025, the parliamentary league delivered a formal written proposal (提言) to Defense Minister Gen Nakatani.3 The document requested that the Ministry of Defense establish a specialized division for UAP information-gathering, investigation, and analysis, with public disclosure obligations and regular reporting to the National Diet.3

Nakatani acknowledged receipt and stated the government would 'continue steady efforts to promptly disclose any newly discovered matters requiring public or Diet notification.'3 He did not announce the creation of any new office, and as of mid-June 2026 no primary source — including mod.go.jp, kantei.go.jp, NHK, Nikkei, or Jiji — confirms that a dedicated MoD UAP division has been formally established.

  The Genkai nuclear plant incident

On the night of July 26, 2025, four Kyushu Electric Power security guards and a stationed police officer observed three unidentified aerial objects resembling drones hovering for over two hours above the Genkai Nuclear Power Plant in Saga Prefecture.4 The Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) stated afterward that 'it cannot be said with certainty that they were drones'; no drones or flying objects were found on or near the plant grounds and no nuclear abnormalities were detected.5 The NRA's caution is worth noting: secondary sources characterizing the incident as a confirmed UAP overflight go beyond what primary reporting established.

On August 7, 2025, parliamentary league members held closed-door hearings in the House of Representatives with officials from the NRA, Ministry of Defense, and Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism regarding the Genkai incident and other aerial incidents.4 Primary sources confirm the hearing occurred but its classified contents have not been published.

  Escalation to Cabinet Secretariat level

On May 28, 2026, the parliamentary league submitted a proposal to Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara — who had been appointed to that role by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on October 21, 2025 — calling for the Cabinet Secretariat to take on command-center functions (司令塔機能) for UAP responses, including cross-ministerial information-gathering and coordination.678 Kihara acknowledged he had personally reviewed Pentagon-released UAP footage captured near Japanese airspace, following the U.S. DoD's May 8, 2026 release of 161 items including videos, photographs, and documents.9 Kihara stated the government would pursue agencies working together in unified response; no primary source confirms he committed to establishing a formal cross-ministerial framework.

Secondary aggregators have separately reported on a March 2026 parliamentary league general assembly at which a proposal was described as placing a dedicated UAP office under the Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary for Crisis Management.1011 This specific claim is not confirmed by Nikkei, NHK, Jiji, or Kyodo primary sources and should be treated with caution.

  Where things stand

As of mid-June 2026 the situation remains a legislative proposal, not a government decision. The league has successfully escalated its advocacy from ministry level to Cabinet Secretariat level over roughly two years, and the Genkai incident and Pentagon footage release have maintained political visibility. Japan has no confirmed dedicated UAP investigation office. The trajectory is notable against the backdrop of the 1986 Japan Airlines Flight 1628 incident, which preceded any institutional framework for aerial anomaly reporting by decades. Whether the current legislative momentum produces a standing body analogous to AARO remains to be seen.

  References

  References

  1. Nikkei Shimbun, 超党派UFO議連が発足 安全保障の観点で専門機関設置めざす (2024-06-06) https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQOUA061TY0W4A600C2000000/ ↩ ↩2

  2. South China Morning Post, Japan sets up parliamentary group to probe UFO sightings (2024-05-30) https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3264559/japan-sets-parliamentary-group-probe-ufo-sightings-move-research-mainstream ↩

  3. Nikkei Shimbun, 「UFOの調査部署を」超党派議連、中谷元防衛相に提言 (2025-05-16) https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQOUA165760W5A510C2000000/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  4. Japan Times, Three drones spotted over nuclear plant in Saga Prefecture (2025-07-27) https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07/27/japan/drones-genkai-plant/ ↩ ↩2

  5. Japan Times, Suspected drone flights over Genkai nuclear plant not yet confirmed (2025-07-28) https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07/28/japan/drones-over-genkai-nuclear-plant-not-confirmed/ ↩

  6. NHK News Web, UFO議連が木原官房長官に提言 '危機管理体制の構築を' (2026-05-28) https://news.web.nhk/newsweb/na/na-k10015134181000 ↩

  7. Kanaloco (Kanagawa Shimbun), 未確認異常現象、内閣官房に司令塔機能を UFO議連が木原官房長官に提言 (2026-05-28) https://www.kanaloco.jp/news/government/article-1275701.html ↩

  8. Wikipedia, Minoru Kihara https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minoru_Kihara ↩

  9. Japan Times, Tokyo analyzing Pentagon UFO file trove with sightings near Japan (2026-05-11) https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/05/11/japan/us-pentagon-japan-ufos/ ↩

  10. Sentinel News, Japan: Lawmakers Push for UAP Investigation Body (2026-03-24) https://www.sentinel-news.org/p/japan-lawmakers-push-for-uap-investigation ↩

  11. Ryan Sprague / Medium, Japan Moves Toward Unified UAP Strategy with Landmark Government Proposal (2026-03-24) https://ryan-sprague51.medium.com/japan-moves-toward-unified-uap-strategy-with-landmark-government-proposal-9707f110a81c ↩

Occured on May 16, 2025

5 min read