Section C · Formal political actors · 1963–
Taro Kono
Minister of Defense of Japan (2019-2020) · Foreign Minister (2017-2019) · figure of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)
Gobierno de Japón (Kantei) · CC-BY 4.0
Biography
Japanese LDP politician, known for his direct style and international presence. As Minister of Defense, in September 2020 —days after the U.S. Navy officially released the FLIR videos— he ordered the Air Self-Defense Force to standardize the recording and reporting of unidentified aerial phenomena, which took shape in the Ministry of Defense's formal directive of September 14, 2020. It is Japan's first institutional step toward a UAP protocol, taken from an airspace-security logic —not from belief: Kono himself declared he was skeptical about UFOs, but judged that the chain of command should be prepared.
Why they're here · 1 pieces
- 2020
Directiva UAP del Ministerio de Defensa de Japón (JASDF)
Ordered Japan's first formal procedure to film, document, and report unidentified aerial phenomena
Sources
- Reuters — Japan's military to develop procedures for UFO encounters (2020) — Primary source of Kono's announcement and the Ministry of Defense directive.
- The Japan Times — Defense Minister Taro Kono on UFO protocols (2020) — Coverage of the context (U.S. Navy FLIR videos) and Kono's declared skepticism.
Associated cases (1)
Synthesized bio from the UAP disclosure ecosystem — categorized by epistemological section (A-F).