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Robin Mountford's Report about |
Robin Mountford's Report about
the UFO Museum in Japan
( Reporter in South Africa, May-June, 1996 )
Robin Mountford is a media reporter in South Africa and became intriqued by the announcement of the opening of the UFO Museum in Japan. Her company was considering doing a story about this opening but due to many conflicting information, they decided against it. I heard of Robin via the IUFO mailing list, as she sent some messages there to inquire if others knew anything about the museum. She has kindly granted to us permission to print the information she collected during her investigation.Illinois
From: robin@fc.co.za (Robin Mountford)
Date: 04 Jun 96 16:29:00 +0200
Subject: Japanese Museum
Organization: Friendly City BBS
JoshuaHere is some text relating to the Japanese UFO museum. There is a possibility that you have some of this already.
From: Thomas Moore
Posting: Originally to i_ufoI have been following this thread with considerable interest since I live in Japan. I posted some messages on three BBS's in Tokyo requesting confirmation of the Hakui City "UFO" Museum and received the following from a Japanese woman:
"Thomas Moore writes:
>The two most interesting ones found were local area tourist pages:
>http://ns.jtb.co.jp/TJsite/Pref/Ishikawa/index-e.html AND
>http://jin.jcic.or.jp/region/chubu.htmlI checked out both sites and the first site didn't do what it was supposed to do i.e. give info about Ishikawa prefecture. It just had several pictures and nothing else so it wasn't much use. At the second URL, though, I a guide to a museum that's going to open on 7AUG 1996 in Hakui City. It is called Cosmo Isle (Kosumo Airu) and is going to display outer-space development technology / equipment, with co-operation of scientists from around the world. The building is shaped like a UFO and it'll have a computer graphics theatre on the top floor. It is said to be an amusing place to visit not only for UFO maniacs but also for the general public.
> In convincing Mr. Dean to come, the Japanese officials told him that
> the museum will contain physical artefacts from UFO crash retrievals
> and proof of extraterrestrial corpses found, among other evidence.The site did not include information on this particular aspect of the issue, and the government funding wasn't mentioned either. The telephone number for the museum is 0767-22-xxxx. Hopefully you'll be able to get the details there."
I also received the following from a man who has written a book about Japan".
"A few years ago I did an article on Hakui's plans to put up a UFO museum. A local official insisted that the town has had "lots of sightings" and has "lots of documentation", including footage shot by a government employee who is "absolutely sure" it shows a UFO. Of course, the reality is that Hakui, like other small Japanese towns, is facing an outflow of young people and business, and is trying to come up with a way of drawing attention to itself. The official I interviewed eventually conceded that the ufo museum is basically an attempt to lure tourists with an unusual attraction. "Please come and visit", he said.
Copyright: 1994 by UPI, R
Date: Fri, 7 Jan 1994
Location: Japan, Asia
ACategory: international
TOKYO (UPI)Questions about the existence of alien beings from outer space may find answers in a small city in Western Japan that aims to become the world information centre on UFO's.
An official from Hakui said Friday the city has been looking into the requisites for becoming a data base on the mysteries of the universe - with particular emphasis on the research on unidentified flying objects. "In the future, we hope the (Hakui) facilities will become the focus of international attention in terms of collecting and disseminating information on UFO's", said city official Toru Wada.
Researchers in Hakui, located on the Japan sea coast 310 miles west of Tokyo, already have spent 10 years acquiring documentation on UFO sightings. Hakui's library has more than 10, 000 official documents relating to UFO phenomena , Wada said.
Wada said among the information housed there are reports by both the CIA and FBI -- including a 1950 FBI report on the recovery of the bodies of three supposed alien beings and fragments of a mysterious craft. The city's facilities for extraterrestrial research include a hall capable of holding international symposiums and exhibitions, a theme park and a library.
Johsen Takano, 38, who works for the Hakui municipality and is a prime mover behind the UFO center, told the Kyodo News Service, documents were also obtained from countries such as Britian, France and Canada.
"We are not seeking to offer any conclusions on the existence of UFO's", Takano said. "Rather, we just want to provide people with information so they can make their own judgement."Takano began studying extraterrestrial phenomena in his student days and has a personal collection of thousands of books on UFO's.
End article.
From: Legion@werple.net.au (John xxxxxx)The prime mover behind the Museum is a municipal employee of the Hakui City Council, Johsen Takano. Curiously, Colin Andrews - and Dr. Boylan - have referred to him as a "senior Japanese Government minister". As you'll see, from the appended UPI news article, Takano works for the Hakui municipality."
Just why Takano, and what now looks to be a tourist attraction, should be hailed as an official Japanese Government plan to "uncover" the truth about UFO's is a mystery. One can only surmise that such claims will generate a lot of publicity and interest, which is precisely what a new tourist attraction requires. It is, however, misleading, and not at all an "honest" way to promote a "Museum" which will incorporate a convention center, planetarium, and a theme park.
Source: UFO universe, Spring 1993
Article: Japan's UFO mystery tour - Antonio Huneeus[...]
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 Japanese 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 in giving 100 million yen (about $770,000) to various towns and villages. "All the recipients have to do is find a way to use the money", continued the article, which reported about Hakui's "alien project" of "building a museum shaped like a flying saucer."
There you have it....Our company decided to wait this one out, rather than catch the official opening, as none of the dates mentioned so far are the same. If it was imperative that we catch the opening, we could have gone to a lot more trouble in confirming dates etc., but an opening event is not that important and we decided to wait until the opening has passed and then tackle the issue again.
Lurking on UFO conferences and visiting UFO clubs, makes one a little paranoid to say the least. I don't know if the paranoia is dreamt up, but it certainly is catching. There COULD be elements out there that would give out misleading information to anyone with a question. Being a television production company could attract this element to ourselves. I do, however, think it is healthy to be a little suspicious, under the circumstances.
ROBIN
Standard disclaimer: The views of this user are strictly his own.
Friendly City BBS - Port Elizabeth - South Africa (27-41-51-1185).
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1st Reports on Japanese UFO Museum
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