Aliens On Earth.com Resources for those who are stranded here Our Bookstore is OPEN Over 5000 new & used titles, competitively priced! Topics: UFOs - Paranormal - Area 51 - Ghosts - Forteana - Conspiracy - History - Biography - Psychology - Religion - Crime - Health - Geography - Maps - Science - Money - Language - Recreation - Technology - Fiction - Other - New Search... for keyword(s)   in Page Titles in Book Title/Author in Contents of Pages ---other searches--- Metacrawler Yahoo FAST Search Google Altavista Dogpile Inference Find Northern Light IWon.com MSN Search Las Vegas Sun Location: Mothership -> UFO -> Updates -> 1997 -> Jan -> Japanese UFO Museum Hoax/Scam

UFO UpDates Mailing List

From: Ian Read <i.read@netcom.co.uk>
Date: Sat, 11 Jan 1997 10:32:22 GMT
Fwd Date: Sat, 11 Jan 1997 10:39:26 -0500
Subject: Japanese UFO Museum Hoax/Scam

>From 'The Crop Watcher' issue 22, Summer 1994. pp 20-22)

           Japanese UFO Museum Hoax Scam  - by Paul Fuller

Readers will recall that in CW20 we examined claims made to Colin
Andrews by the Japanese representative attending the United Nations
Society for Enlightenment and Transformation lecture :- "Following last
minute discussions at the United Nations with the Japanese
representative appearing at the symposium, I was happy to be able to
celebrate with the audience the Japanese and Chinese government's
decision to openly research and release information on the UFO.  The
Japanese representative told me of plans, which have now been set in
motion, to inform their people of the truth surrounding the UFO.  A
huge multi-million dollar museum now being built in Japan, is the first
phase of the public education program."

Writing in the CPR International Newsletter (Fall 1993, vol 2 no 2)
Colin Andrews discusses this claim in some detail.  Andrews states that
during lunch at the United Nations he was introduced to "a Japanese
government official" Mr Johsen Takano, Professor Chiang, Yoang Yung,
Chairman of the Taiwan UFO Science Assocation, John Schuessler, Michael
Hesemann and Dr.  Rauni Luukanen-Kilde of Norway.  During lunch Andrews
claims that Takano suddenly produced plans of the proposed Hakui City
UFO Museum.  Andrews states :-

"[Takano] explained that this was the beginning of a very important
government program following adoption of a new policy to educate the
Japanese people about the UFO phenomenon within the next three years.
...  This was the first I was aware of the Japanese government's
decision to reveal information about the UFO and other related
phenomena.  I could not believe what I was hearing, yet at a deeper
level, I have expected similar developments from the west in a similar
time frame".

Well, according to Andrews it seems that even the Chinese Government
has decided to educate its peoples about UFOs and crop circles !
Andrews claims that he has been invited by the Chinese Government to
run a "series of lectures" at "a large University in Taiwan" during
April 1994.  There is a drawing of what the Japanese UFO Museum will
look like ("the conventional Adamski-type UFO") and the subjects to
feature in this "museum" will include "aerial phenomena, abductions,
crop circles, and radio transmissions related to S.E.T.I.".  Andrews
quotes Takano stating that the Museum has a budget of 5,400,000,000 yen
(approx $ 50 million US).  Hakui is a small coastal town 310 miles to
the west of Tokyo.

_Expose_

Now new evidence has emerged which casts a wholly different light on
these sensational claims.  In the Spring 1993 issue of Tim Beckley's
"UFO Universe" magazine, Anthonio Huneeus has published an article
titled "Japan's UFO Mystery Tour".  In it he states :- "In 1989,
shortly after Kaifu became Prime Minister, the Japanese press reported
that the small textile town of Hakui was receiving funds to build a UFO
museum.  The Japan Times quoted Mayor Kazuo Shiotani saying that 'our
idea is that if we build a museum or a library devoted to UFOs, we will
be able to attract more conventions and tourists.  We want Hakui to be
a town that everyone in Japan knows.' The same article quoted excerpts
from Kaifu's 1983 letter.  According to The Wall Street Journal's Tokyo
correspondent, the Hakui funds were part of an 'extravagant # 2.4
billion _furusato sosei_ - or 'home town creation' plan, aimed at
boosting communities nationwide'.  The plan consisted of giving 100
million yen (about $ 770,000 US) to various towns and villages.  'All
the recipients have to do is find a way to use the money', continued
the article, which reported Hakui's 'alien project' of 'building a UFO
museum shaped like a flying saucer'."

So, now we see Colin Andrew's claims in a wholly different light.  In
no way was this an official Japanese Government Project to inform the
public about the UFO phenomenon.  Neither were there any connections
with the Chinese Government or the US Government.  Instead it was a
crafty attempt by the mayor of a small Japanese textile town to attract
tourists and establish his town on the Japanese consciousness!  Readers
are invited to calculate the huge difference in the sum of money quoted
by Andrews and that quoted by the Wall Street Journal!

Further into Huneeus' article it becomes clear that Johsen Takano, the
"Japanese government official" who spoke to Andrews at the United
Nations, is actually an employee of the Hakui City Council, as well as
being a long-time UFO buff.  According to a UPI press release dated 7
Jan 1994 Johsen Takano, 38, has a personal collection of "thousands" of
UFO books and his interest in the subject stems from his student days.
According to Takano "We are not seeking to offer any conclusions on the
existence of UFOs.  Rather, we just want to provide people with
information so that they can make their own judgement."

The idea for creating the UFO Museum probably formed following pro-UFO
statements made by former Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu in 1983, when he
wrote a letter to the leader of his own political party, the Liberal
Democratic Party stating:- "When you ask me if I believe in UFOs, I'll
say I'd like to though I've never seen them, because the existence of
UFOs is a perfect dream."

Kaifu's interest in UFOs stems from a meeting he held in 1967 with Mr
Takio Oda, "a very influential person in the Foreign Ministry".  Kaifu
went on to state : "It's been one of my desires to watch a UFO ever
since, but it has never materialised".

Amazingly Kaifu admitted that he had searched for UFOs in trips to the
Pacific Islands, Australia, Switzerland and Antarctica.  "I hope my
dream to encounter a UFO comes true in the future".  In November 1989,
shortly after Kaifu became the Japanese Prime Minister, Kaifu gave a
brief interview to students at Waseda University in Tokyo, where the
question of founding an official government UFO organisation was
raised.  Kaifu responded :- "...If young people display a serious
interest in similar phenomena, we should perhaps think of forming a UFO
data collecting group under the auspices of the Ministry of Education".

In 1990 the Hakui City School Board organised a Space & UFO symposium
which attracted 50,000 people to see the exhibits.  The organisers
managed to obtain a letter of endorsement from Prime Minister Kaifu to
Major Shiotani dated June 4, 1990.  Perhaps this letter is one reason
why Takano appears to have claimed to Colin Andrews that the UFO Museum
was an official Japanese Government-backed project?

Plans for the UFO Museum proceeded from this date, although now four
years later it is still only a concept on paper.  In late 1991 Prime
Minister Kaifu stepped down from his premiership and was replaced by
Kichi Miyazawa.  However, Tokuo Moriwaki, who is a graduate in
political science from Waseda University, has set up the Japan UFO
Political Party, one of dozens of single-issue "mini parties" which dot
the Tokyo political spectrum.  Moriwaki has tried since 1986 to get
elected to the Upper House of the Japanese Diet (Parliament), but has
so far failed.

So, once again a claim made by Colin Andrews in the public arena has
turned out to be quite false.  Once again the public have been misled.
And once again we call on Andrews to issue a public retraction.

                -----------------------------------

The Crop Watcher is an independant non-profit-making magazine devoted
to the scientific study of crop circles and the social mythology that
accompanies them.  All correspondence should be addressed to: Paul
Fuller, 3 Selborne Court, Tavistock Close, ROMSEY, Hampshire, SO51 7TY
England.

                 -----------------------------------

===========================================================================
 ______
/__  __\  - Ian Read
\\_\/_//  - UFON UK/NUFOS Board Director
 \ .. /   - Email - i.read@netcom.co.uk
  \  /    - UFO Discovery - http://people.netcom.co.uk/i.read/
   \/     - Newsgroup - alt.binaries.ufo.files