Japanese City Embraces Place in UFO Lore

By Tim Binnall

A Japanese city hopes to become their country's version of Roswell by embracing a legendary UFO incident that occurred there decades ago. In February of 1975, the community of Kofu was reportedly the site of a dramatic event wherein two boys said that they saw a pair of flying saucers in the sky and an alien "with a big head, long ears and three fangs" descend from one of the craft. The youngsters dutifully ran home to report the strange sighting to their parents and their families subsequently ventured out to the scene, where they also saw the odd UFOs before the aerial anomalies departed from the sky.

The curious incident is now considered one of the three seminal cases of Japanese ufological lore and residents of the city see next year's 50th anniversary as both a cause for celebration as well as an opportunity to firmly plant the community on the proverbial flying saucer map. "I want to make Kofu a mecca for UFO enthusiasts," declared radio personality Kiichi Tokutake, who has already begun planning the festivities. Beyond the anniversary celebration set for 2025, there are also plans to create a monument at the site of the incident to both commemorate the famed sighting as well as draw visitors to the city well into the future.