MoD
Ministry of Defense — UAP response framework
Ministry of Defense / Cabinet Office Crisis Management
Japan's UAP track is the program currently moving fastest. The Ministry of Defense entered the modern record in April 2020 when then-Defense Minister Tarō Kōno issued reporting procedures for Self-Defense Forces aircrew. A bipartisan Diet caucus has since pushed past the MoD: in March 2026 it formally proposed a dedicated UAP body under the Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary for Crisis Management — Japan's clearest move yet toward an AARO-equivalent.
About the program
Japan's posture toward UAP shifted markedly in 2020. On 28 April of that year — three days after the U.S. Department of Defense officially released the FLIR1, GIMBAL and GO FAST videos — Defense Minister Tarō Kōno publicly directed the Self-Defense Forces to standardize their procedures for reporting unidentified objects. The reporting protocol covers visual sightings, radar contacts, and aircrew observations, with the data forwarded to the MoD for analysis.
In June 2024 a non-partisan group of Diet members, chaired by former defense minister Yasukazu Hamada and including former state minister for defense Yasuhide Nakayama, formed the Parliamentary League for Unraveling Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) from a National Security Perspective — Japan's first cross-party UAP caucus. The group has hosted briefings with U.S. AARO officials and former U.S. Navy pilots, and from its founding made an AARO-equivalent investigation office its central legislative ask.
The pace accelerated sharply in 2026. After President Trump's 19 February 2026 executive order mandating full U.S. UAP disclosure, the caucus announced on 24 March 2026 that it would propose the creation of a dedicated framework directly under the Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary for Crisis Management — a structural placement that would house UAP work in the Cabinet Office rather than leaving it siloed in the MoD. The proposal was formalised at the caucus's 4th General Meeting on 30 March 2026.
Then on 8 May 2026 the U.S. Department of War released its first PURSUE batch — 161 declassified UAP files including videos recorded near Japanese airspace and the East China Sea. On 11 May 2026 Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara confirmed at a regular press briefing that the Japanese government was analysing the U.S. material alongside its allies, and — for the first time on the record — confirmed that Japan possesses its own UAP video footage. Kihara said disclosure decisions would be made on a case-by-case basis, balanced against the protection of intelligence-gathering capabilities. As of mid-May 2026 no Japanese files have yet been released, but the policy door is now formally open.
Sources
- Defense Minister Kōno on UAP reporting procedures (Reuters, 28 April 2020)
- Japan UAP parliamentary caucus launch (South China Morning Post, June 2024)
- Japan Moves Toward Unified UAP Strategy with Landmark Government Proposal (Sprague, March 2026)
- Tokyo analysing Pentagon UFO files with sightings near Japan (Japan Times, 11 May 2026)
- Japan confirms possession of UAP footage after reviewing Pentagon videos (IBTimes UK, May 2026)
Landmark documents
Direct primary-source links. Where a backup mirror exists for a known link-rot risk, we name the host.
- Policy document · Announced 24 March 2026; finalised at 4th General Meeting 30 March 2026
Caucus proposal: dedicated UAP framework under the Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary for Crisis Management
Japan's clearest move toward a U.S. AARO-equivalent: a recommendation that UAP work be housed in the Cabinet Office under the Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary for Crisis Management, rather than left siloed inside the Ministry of Defense. Issued in direct response to President Trump's 19 February 2026 disclosure executive order.
- Press release · 11 May 2026 press briefing
Chief Cabinet Secretary Kihara — first official confirmation that Japan possesses UAP video footage
Minoru Kihara's response to the U.S. Department of War's 8 May 2026 PURSUE release of 161 UAP files (which included footage recorded near Japanese airspace). The first on-the-record acknowledgement that Japan holds its own UAP imagery, with case-by-case disclosure to follow.
- Hearing transcript · 6 June 2024
Parliamentary League for UAP from a National Security Perspective — founding
Founding meeting of Japan's first cross-party UAP study group, chaired by Yasukazu Hamada. The caucus has since served as the primary legislative driver for an AARO-equivalent investigation office.
- Policy document · 28 April 2020
Self-Defense Forces UAP reporting procedure — Defense Minister statement
Defense Minister Tarō Kōno's instruction directing the SDF to record and report unidentified aerial phenomena. Japan's founding policy document on the modern UAP question. The instruction was delivered at a press conference rather than as a single canonical document; the Singular Fortean Society write-up reproduces the press-conference statement in full and is the most durable freely-accessible report.
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