Japan lawmakers probe UFO security 'threat'

An unclassified video taken by Navy pilots that have circulated for years showing interactions with "unidentified aerial phenomena". [AFP]

UFO sightings should not be dismissed out of hand because they could in fact be surveillance drones or weapons, say Japanese lawmakers who launched a group on Thursday to probe the matter.

The non-partisan group, which counts former defence ministers among its 80-plus members, will urge Japan to ramp up abilities to detect and analyse unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP), more commonly known as UFOs.