Posted On: July 10, 2022

The year was 1974. The place was an unknown location over Japan. A Japanese Fighter Jet was sent to investigate a UFO. Here is the story of what occurred.

Timothy Good advised during a visit to Japan in 1964. While discussions focused on more general aspects of the subject, He was unable to acquire any information regarding the official line at that time, and his recent response from the Embassy of Japan in London shed no further light on the matter.

"Although there is a considerable interest in UFOs in the private sector the Japanese government has not yet set any research institute or department for them."

Yet there is evidence for official concern in Japan.

In 1967 General Kanshi Ishikawa, Chief of Air Staff of Japan's Air Self-Defense Force, made the following important statement:

"If UFOs are flying objects hovering in the sky, they should be caught by radar. Much evidence tells us they have been tracked by radar, so, UFOs are real and they may come from outer space. I can imagine that there are two types of UFOs, small ones for scouting and large ships for interstellar travel, utilizing electro-magnetic fields. The dream of our pilots is to acquire the technique of gravity-control, capable of perfectly free maneuverability. I believe the saucer-shape is the best design from the point of view of hydrodynamics. UFO photographs and various materials show scientifically that there are more advanced people piloting the saucers and mother ships."

"UFOs are impossible to deny", said Colonel Fujio Hayashi, Commander of the Air TransportWing, Irima Air Squadron, in the late 1960s. "When we pilots scramble we have to identify the object clearly, whether it is an enemy or not. Though it is said that these unknown objects might be the secret weapons of some powers, it is very strange that we have never been able to find out the source for over two decades."

In September 1977, Lieutenant General Akira Hirano, Chief of Staff of the JASDF, admitted, "We frequently see unidentified objects in the skies. We are quietly investigating them."

The following day, however, it was explained that the general had made a mistake; Hirano's staff denied that he had mentioned official investigations. "If they're hostile, we want to have a full explanation before we upset the general populace," an official admitted later, on condition that his name was not published. Major Shiro Kubota claims to have had an alarming encounter with a UFO which led to the death of Lieutenant Colonel Toshio Nakamura, who was flying with him in an F-4EJ Phantom on June 9th, 1974, when the incident is alleged to have occurred. Nakamura told a reporter:

"We thought at first we were going up to intercept a Soviet bomber, of the type which sometimes tests our northern air defenses. After Toshio got us airborne, our Ground Control Intercept (GCI) explained to us that we were going upstairs to check out a bright-colored light reported by dozens of observers and showing on radar. Several minutes later, we broke out of the clouds and leveled off at 30000 feet on a clear, moonless night. That was when we spotted the light a few miles ahead. Even at first, I felt that this disk-like, red-orange object was a craft, made and flown by intelligent beings. It appeared to be about 10 meters in diameter, with square-shaped marks around its side which may have been windows or propulsion outlets. Toshio aimed us straight toward it and, as it grew larger in our gun sight, it dipped into a shallow turn, as if sensing our presence.

Toshio armed our 20mm cannon and closed in on the UFO. Suddenly, the object reversed direction and shot straight at us. Toshio threw the stick to the left and forced us into a sudden, violent dive. The glowing red UFO shot past, missing us by inches. Then it made a sharp turn and came at us again. The UFO began making rapid, high-speed passes at us, drawing closer and closer. Several times, the strange object narrowly missed us. And then, if the report is to be believed, the UFO struck the Phantom jet. Both pilots ejected, but Nakamura's parachute caught fire and he fell to his death. The UFO either disappeared or disintegrated. Japanese Air Defense authorities conducted a lengthy investigation into the incident, but no findings have been released to date, beyond an admission that the Phantom, serial number 17-8307, crashed, killing Nakamura, following a collision with "an aircraft or object unknown."

Rather than remain silent about the incident Kubota retired from active service. Major General Hideki Komura, an adviser to Japan's top intelligence agency, the Naicho (Cabinet Research Office), has admitted that investigations into UFOs are carried out at a top level. At first, he explained, the JASDF openly solicited reports from the public. "This was in the late 1950s and we were, frankly, imitating your own Project Blue Book", he told the American reporter. "But we were deluged. Interest was so great, and so many reports poured in, that we were unable to separate the good reports from the garakuda [rubbish]. We had to give up. It simply was not working."

General Komura was reluctant to disclose details of investigations then (1977) being conducted by defense and intelligence agencies, but revealed:

"We cooperate very closely with your U.S. government. Remember how we invited your Foreign Technology Division officials here to examine the MiG-25 jet we received from a defecting Soviet pilot? [Britain's MI6 had been instrumental in securing Lt. Belenko's defection.] The Foreign Technology Division is the outfit under which Project Blue Book once operated. We have cooperated many times on other issues, and visitors from another planet would certainly be a legitimate subject for inquiry."

Resources: Above Top Secret, Timothy Good, 1988.

My Take: It seems to me that the UFO felt threatened and actively tried to destroy the fighter jet. They must have known that their craft was far sturdier than the jet and would suffer no damage. I wonder if there was more to this story and the Japanese jet fired on the UFO first?

Posted On: July 10, 2022

The year was 1974. The place was an unknown location over Japan. A Japanese Fighter Jet was sent to investigate a UFO. Here is the story of what occurred.

Timothy Good advised during a visit to Japan in 1964. While discussions focused on more general aspects of the subject, He was unable to acquire any information regarding the official line at that time, and his recent response from the Embassy of Japan in London shed no further light on the matter.

"Although there is a considerable interest in UFOs in the private sector the Japanese government has not yet set any research institute or department for them."

Yet there is evidence for official concern in Japan.

In 1967 General Kanshi Ishikawa, Chief of Air Staff of Japan's Air Self-Defense Force, made the following important statement:

"If UFOs are flying objects hovering in the sky, they should be caught by radar. Much evidence tells us they have been tracked by radar, so, UFOs are real and they may come from outer space. I can imagine that there are two types of UFOs, small ones for scouting and large ships for interstellar travel, utilizing electro-magnetic fields. The dream of our pilots is to acquire the technique of gravity-control, capable of perfectly free maneuverability. I believe the saucer-shape is the best design from the point of view of hydrodynamics. UFO photographs and various materials show scientifically that there are more advanced people piloting the saucers and mother ships."

"UFOs are impossible to deny", said Colonel Fujio Hayashi, Commander of the Air TransportWing, Irima Air Squadron, in the late 1960s. "When we pilots scramble we have to identify the object clearly, whether it is an enemy or not. Though it is said that these unknown objects might be the secret weapons of some powers, it is very strange that we have never been able to find out the source for over two decades."

In September 1977, Lieutenant General Akira Hirano, Chief of Staff of the JASDF, admitted, "We frequently see unidentified objects in the skies. We are quietly investigating them."

The following day, however, it was explained that the general had made a mistake; Hirano's staff denied that he had mentioned official investigations. "If they're hostile, we want to have a full explanation before we upset the general populace," an official admitted later, on condition that his name was not published. Major Shiro Kubota claims to have had an alarming encounter with a UFO which led to the death of Lieutenant Colonel Toshio Nakamura, who was flying with him in an F-4EJ Phantom on June 9th, 1974, when the incident is alleged to have occurred. Nakamura told a reporter:

"We thought at first we were going up to intercept a Soviet bomber, of the type which sometimes tests our northern air defenses. After Toshio got us airborne, our Ground Control Intercept (GCI) explained to us that we were going upstairs to check out a bright-colored light reported by dozens of observers and showing on radar. Several minutes later, we broke out of the clouds and leveled off at 30000 feet on a clear, moonless night. That was when we spotted the light a few miles ahead. Even at first, I felt that this disk-like, red-orange object was a craft, made and flown by intelligent beings. It appeared to be about 10 meters in diameter, with square-shaped marks around its side which may have been windows or propulsion outlets. Toshio aimed us straight toward it and, as it grew larger in our gun sight, it dipped into a shallow turn, as if sensing our presence.

Toshio armed our 20mm cannon and closed in on the UFO. Suddenly, the object reversed direction and shot straight at us. Toshio threw the stick to the left and forced us into a sudden, violent dive. The glowing red UFO shot past, missing us by inches. Then it made a sharp turn and came at us again. The UFO began making rapid, high-speed passes at us, drawing closer and closer. Several times, the strange object narrowly missed us. And then, if the report is to be believed, the UFO struck the Phantom jet. Both pilots ejected, but Nakamura's parachute caught fire and he fell to his death. The UFO either disappeared or disintegrated. Japanese Air Defense authorities conducted a lengthy investigation into the incident, but no findings have been released to date, beyond an admission that the Phantom, serial number 17-8307, crashed, killing Nakamura, following a collision with "an aircraft or object unknown."

Rather than remain silent about the incident Kubota retired from active service. Major General Hideki Komura, an adviser to Japan's top intelligence agency, the Naicho (Cabinet Research Office), has admitted that investigations into UFOs are carried out at a top level. At first, he explained, the JASDF openly solicited reports from the public. "This was in the late 1950s and we were, frankly, imitating your own Project Blue Book", he told the American reporter. "But we were deluged. Interest was so great, and so many reports poured in, that we were unable to separate the good reports from the garakuda [rubbish]. We had to give up. It simply was not working."

General Komura was reluctant to disclose details of investigations then (1977) being conducted by defense and intelligence agencies, but revealed:

"We cooperate very closely with your U.S. government. Remember how we invited your Foreign Technology Division officials here to examine the MiG-25 jet we received from a defecting Soviet pilot? [Britain's MI6 had been instrumental in securing Lt. Belenko's defection.] The Foreign Technology Division is the outfit under which Project Blue Book once operated. We have cooperated many times on other issues, and visitors from another planet would certainly be a legitimate subject for inquiry."

Resources: Above Top Secret, Timothy Good, 1988.

My Take: It seems to me that the UFO felt threatened and actively tried to destroy the fighter jet. They must have known that their craft was far sturdier than the jet and would suffer no damage. I wonder if there was more to this story and the Japanese jet fired on the UFO first?