Yoshiharu Asakawa is a congressman of the House of Representatives of Japan, and a member of Japan’s Innovation Party. Additionally, he is a member of the House of Representatives Safety Committee and part of the Special Committee on Consumer Affairs, and a former councilman of the city of Yokohama. On April 25, 2023, he brought the UAP (Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena) issue to the floor of the Security Committee of the House of Representatives in order to legislate on UAPs matters. On November 9 of that same year, Congressman Asakawa urged the Ministry of Defense to consider the creation of an official UFO Study group in Japan. What is the Japanese Government position regarding Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAPs)? There is a sense of danger in the event that an unidentifiable object is another country’s latest weapons or reconnaissance aircraft, the Minister said at the Security Committee meeting in December. In response to a question from an online media reporter, the Chief Cabinet Secretary replied that «we will continue to collect and analyze information on various events with a high level of interest». Do you believe that by 2024 the Japanese government will establish a UAP-related office? At present, there is no plan to set up a UAP-related department in the Ministry of Defense or anywhere in the executive branch, but I think there is a possibility depending on the future movements of the Diet (national legislature of Japan).
Are you aware if the Ministry of Defense of Japan conducts activities related to UAPs? I don’t think they’re doing anything special with UAPs. Could you tell us which other Japanese congressmen, like yourself, are supporting to take the UAP issue more seriously? It seems that the number of parliamentarians who are aware of the problem is increasing, but there are currently no parliamentarians who are openly working on it. 
Do you know if there is any potential collaboration between the government of Japan and the government of the United States concerning the exchange of information about UAP sightings? The Chief Cabinet Secretary said “We regularly cooperate with the United States to share and analyze information on events related to Japan’s security, including unidentified objects in the air”. But I don’t think there’s any cooperation now. I think cooperation between us and the U.S. will increase in the future.
«It is unlikely that David Grusch is lying»
What is your opinion about the whistleblower David Grusch? As expected, he made a statement at a hearing in the U.S. Congress, so considering that he has taken an oath and his former duties, it is unlikely that he is lying. However, I cannot act on the premise that a statement is true without evidence of it. Are you aware of any current or former Japanese officials who claim that the Japanese government has a secret program dedicated to the UFO/UAP topic? I don’t know. Do you plan to organize any public hearings on the UAP issue? I don’t have the authority to hold a hearing. I think it will be difficult to hold the event under the current circumstances. There are also differences in the parliamentary systems of Japan and the United States. However, when new facts are revealed, there is a possibility that «reference questioning» will be held by inviting experts similar to public hearings. 
On November 9th, you were able to ask directly to representatives of the Ministry of Defense of Japan about the UAP cases that have occurred in Japanese territory. What was their response? In the questions and answers at the Security Committee at that time and at the same committee meeting in December, there was a change in the answer of the Minister of Defense, and although he was not aware of the situation at first, he read the UAP-related materials that I submitted, gathered the information, and responded that he would like to respond in the future with the same sense of urgency as I did.
FIRST UAP INTELLIGENCE DOCUMENT FROM THE MINISTRY OF DEFENSE
Yoshiharu Asakawa: «I was given an explanation of the “Overview of UAPs Announced by the U.S. Department of Defense” compiled by the Ministry of Defense. I also received the compiled text. Although a specialized organization has not yet been established within the Ministry of Defense, progress has been made to the point where this memo appears. The achievements of U.S. Senator Marco Rubio are also noted. The Japanese government has previously announced that it is closely sharing information and analyzing UAPs with the United States. However, this is the first time that this document has been created. What have been the Defense Minister’s answers in the Diet and the Chief Cabinet Secretary’s answers at press conferences so far? «I wasn’t doing anything».
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