Document · 15 September 2020
Press conference transcript: Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono (September 15, 2020)
Official transcript of Defense Minister Taro Kono's press conference of 15 September 2020, published in Japanese by Japan's Ministry of Defense. In it he announced the directive he had issued the day before on reporting unidentifiable aerial objects. Our copy is a PDF capture of the ministry's page.
Sources: Ministry of Defense of Japan (2020)
Facts and claims
- documented Kono announced that the day before he had issued a minister's directive on reporting unidentifiable objects in the air that could affect Japan's defence and security: report them thoroughly, record them with photographs where possible, and analyse them, including when they are seen on missions other than air-defence scrambles and surveillance. — Taro Kono Source: doc-japan-mod-press-2020-09-15.pdf
- documented He said the directive concerns objects that cannot be identified, not objects from space, and that the Space Operations Squadron is not involved. — Taro Kono Source: doc-japan-mod-press-2020-09-15.pdf
- documented Asked whether the SDF had already photographed any such object, he said there was no record of such an encounter. He added that he and the U.S. defence secretary had set aside time to discuss the issue at their recent meeting in Guam. — Taro Kono Source: doc-japan-mod-press-2020-09-15.pdf
- documented Asked whether drone attacks were on his mind, he said it would be a lie to say otherwise, and called the directive a more down-to-earth intelligence effort, not a search for objects that might come from space. — Taro Kono Source: doc-japan-mod-press-2020-09-15.pdf
Connected files
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Organizations
- Ministry of Defense (Japan) (published by)
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- Taro Kono (records) — Kono's press conference announcing his directive on reporting unidentified aerial objects
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- National Archives of Australia: "Flying saucers – fact or fiction?" (2018)
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