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.
Documents
MoD UAP Reporting Protocol · Japan
On September 14, 2020, Japan's Ministry of Defense, under Minister Taro Kono, set a procedure for the Self-Defense Forces, and the Air Self-Defense Force in particular, to record and photograph any unidentifiable aerial object, document the circumstances of the observation and report it up the chain of command. It came months after the Pentagon released the three Navy videos in April, and the government presented it as alignment with U.S. practice and as a matter of airspace defense. Kono described himself as skeptical and said he had never received a report from pilots. According to an official answer before the Diet in March 2023, no such object has been confirmed since the directive.
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.
- Ministry of Defense (Japan) — UAP reporting protocol announcement (Sept 2020) — Official statement 2020
- National Diet of Japan — Joint Staff answer on the 2020 directive (23 Mar 2023) — Since the ministerial directive of September 2020 no such object has been confirmed.
Contributes a theoretical framework, with no specific case in the archive.
Biography summarized from public sources, classified by section (A-F).