Minoru Kihara

Minoru Kihara is Japan's Minister of Defense. In a November 2023 session of the House of Representatives Security Committee, Representative Yoshiharu Asakawa questioned him on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP). Kihara confirmed frequent UAP observations in western Japan, noting it as a high-reporting zone per Pentagon reports. He affirmed the Ministry of Defense's awareness of UAP as unidentified aerial or underwater objects posing potential security risks and ongoing information sharing and analysis collaboration with the United States. Kihara stated he would continue monitoring the situation.