Japan dismisses UFO concerns

2007-12-19 07:45

Tokyo - Japan has made no preparations for possible encounters with UFOs from outer space as it has never spotted one, the government said on Tuesday.

"The government has not confirmed the existence of 'unidentified flying objects believed to have flown from outside the Earth'," it said in response to a question from an opposition lawmaker.

In the absence of such confirmation, "the government is not collecting information on them, exchanging information with other countries or conducting a particular study," the government said in its first official comment on UFOs.

"We are not considering what measures to take in case 'unidentified flying objects' fly over our country," it said.

The government issued the comment in response to a question from lawmaker Ryuji Yamane of the opposition Democratic Party, who argued Tokyo should try to confirm what UFOs are as many people have said they have witnessed them.

The statement was formally endorsed at Tuesday's cabinet meeting.

Sceptics say UFO sightings are merely aircraft or meteors re-entering the Earth's atmosphere, rather than visitors from another planet. - Sapa-AFP

- SAPA