Japanese lawmakers have called on the Ministry of Defense to establish a dedicated department to investigate unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), including UFOs and unidentified drones.
On May 16, members of the “Parliamentary League for UAP Clarification from a Security Perspective” delivered a formal proposal to Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, urging the government to strengthen surveillance and data collection in response to recent incursions by drones and surveillance balloons, particularly those believed to originate from China.
The proposal calls for the Ministry to form a specialized division focused on three key tasks: collecting and analyzing UAP-related data, disclosing relevant findings to the public, and reporting investigation results regularly to the National Diet.
Yasukazu Hamada, former Defense Minister and leader of the UAP league, emphasized the urgency of comprehensive readiness. “It is critically important that we close any gaps in our response to these unexplained aerial events,” Hamada said. “Our position is to proceed with every possible scenario in mind.”
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, one of the original supporters of the parliamentary league, acknowledged the relevance of the issue.
“As one of the league’s founding members, I continue to recognize the strategic importance of UAPs,” Nakatani said. “We are maintaining a broad, high-level focus on all phenomena that may impact Japan’s national security, including those involving unidentified objects.”