Esper and Kōno discussed UFOs during meeting in Guam

Back in April 2020, Japanese Defense Minister Tarō Kōno announced the possibility of Japanese UFO guidelines (based on the US example and media interest due to released Navy UFO Videos). Here is the archived material in question.

[Press Conference]
2020-04-28 - Japanese Defense Minister Press Conference
https://www.mod.go.jp/j/press/kisha/2020/0428a.html
English Translation:
https://app.box.com/s/bnvogtq3vemse7bgu2rzef5odir82830
Companion Tweet by Japan Defense Minister:
https://twitter.com/konotarogomame/status/1254977557818032130

I just located another item on the official web pages of Japanese Ministry of Defense. During the September 8, 2020 press conference, Kōno was asked if there are any updates on the issue. Although Google translate is a little bit clumsy, it seems he confirmed that topic was discussed during the August 29, 2020 meeting with US Defense Secretary Dr. Mark T. Esper in Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. Screenshot below is extracted from the Japanese Ministry of Defense web pages.
 
Original link:
https://www.mod.go.jp/j/press/kisha/2020/0908a.html
Google Translation to English:
https://bit.ly/3ipLIpD

Video of the press conference was located on the Youtube link below.

Similar references are also spreading via Japanese media outlets. Just detected this Japanese TV News segment from the TV Asahi News.
 
This is a rough Google Translate to English from the original Youtube video description in Japanese. Video and translated screenshot below.

Here is also the official DoD release of the August 2020 Esper-Kōno Guam meeting.

https://www.defense.gov/Explore/News/Article/Article/2329771/esper-japanese-defense-minister-discuss-cooperative-defense-efforts/

https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Releases/Release/Article/2329750/readout-of-secretary-of-defense-mark-t-espers-meeting-with-japanese-defense-min/

Other Japanese web search results via Google Translation in English:
https://bit.ly/2F3Gfq5
 
If you want to locate previous April 2020 news media items on the Japan UFO guidelines, please use keyword "Japan" with CTRL+F within this page:
https://omnitalkradio.weebly.com/pentagon-ufo-media-2020-01.html
 
I will continue to search for more information.

Giuliano Marinkovic
September 9, 2020

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Update: Another Press Conference on UFOs /
Japanese MOD Issued UFO Guidelines

During September 15, 2020, Japanese Defense Minister Tarō Kōno had another press conference where he discussed UFOs again.

Original transcript of the conference is available on the official web site of Japanese Ministry of Defense:
https://www.mod.go.jp/j/press/kisha/2020/0915a.html
Google Translation to English:
https://bit.ly/3mk5iG5

Google Translation is clumsy as usual, but it seems that during the opening speech, Minister Kōno announced formation of guidelines/instructions for military encounters with unidentified flying objects that could affect Japan's defense security. He adds that procedures have been studied for such cases. Unidentified objects should be reported and photographed for subsequent analysis. It seems Kōno also stated that unidentified object simply means that, and doesn't have to represent object that came from space.

See below the screenshot of Google Translation in question.

For comparison here is the Bing Translation of the same passage.

After the opening speech, Q&A session started and journalists followed on the same topic. Here is the Google Translation of those relevant paragraphs. It is clumsy again but it seems Minister Kōno confirmed again that he discussed the topic with US Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper during recent meeting in Andersen Air Force Base, Guam.

For comparison here is the Bing Translation of the same passage.

Video of the press conference was located on the Youtube below.

Besides raw translations above, additional and better context can be found in The Japan Times May 2, 2020 article and the TASS release. Here are the selected screenshots.

I will continue to search for more information.

Giuliano Marinkovic
September 16, 2020

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Media Wave Update

On September 14, 2020, my discovery of this story has been covered by the American digital media network Vice within the article "Japanese Military Announces It Will Track UFOs". Journalist MJ Banias kindly credited me for the story. Subsequently my discovery and Vice coverage caused the entire new media wave on the Japanese UFO guidelines.

Investigative report George Knapp was also kind to credit my discovery in his September 16, 2000 tweet.

And here is the overview of the entire media wave.

[Article]
2020-09-09 - OmniTalk Radio: Esper and Kōno discussed UFOs during meeting in Guam
https://omnitalkradio.weebly.com/journal/esper-and-kono-discussed-ufos-during-recent-guam-meeting

Companion Media:
[Press Release]
2020-08-29 - US DoD: Readout of Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper's Meeting With Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono
https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Releases/Release/Article/2329750/readout-of-secretary-of-defense-mark-t-espers-meeting-with-japanese-defense-min/

[Press Release]
2020-08-29 - US DoD: Esper, Japanese Defense Minister Discuss Cooperative Efforts
https://www.defense.gov/Explore/News/Article/Article/2329771/esper-japanese-defense-minister-discuss-cooperative-defense-efforts/

[Press Conference]
Transcript:
2020-09-08 - Japanese Ministry of Defense
https://www.mod.go.jp/j/press/kisha/2020/0908a.html
English Translation:
https://bit.ly/3ipLIpD
Video Version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FK3TDGvoxk

[Video]
2020-09-08 - ANNnewsCH: Policy for dealing with "UFO" Soon (in Japanese)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6JPrUI4Lz8

[Video]
2020-09-08 - FNN: UFO coping policy to be decided soon Defense Minister Kono emphasizes "Japan-US cooperation"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYO19eOP4CA

[Twitter]
2020-09-08-17 - OmniTalk Radio: Update on Japan UFO Guidelines
- https://twitter.com/OmniTalkRadio/status/1303491885990916097
- https://twitter.com/OmniTalkRadio/status/1303515250722041857
- https://twitter.com/OmniTalkRadio/status/1306540539035213824

[Video]
2020-09-08 - Fade to Black: Jimmy Church w/ Alejandro Rojas : UFO Week P2 : TTSA
(OmniTalk Radio's discovery on Japanese UFO Guidelines discussed from 105:58 minute mark)
https://youtu.be/XlfXXcDTQTg?t=6358

[Video]
2020-09-09 - FNN: If you encounter a UFO ... Defense Minister Kono will decide on a "nearby coping policy"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mn1jXvJUMRk

[Article]
2020-09-09 - The Unidentified: Japan and the United States have an alliance over Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon (UAP)
https://www.the-unidentified.net/japan-and-the-united-states-have-an-alliance-over-unidentified-aerial-phenomenon-uap/

[Twitter]
2020-09-09 - Tweet by Danny Silva
https://twitter.com/SilvaRecord/status/1303692826648219648

[Twitter]
2020-09-09 - Tweet by Luis Elizondo
https://twitter.com/LueElizondo/status/1303514102011101184

[Article]
2020-09-09 - Live Door News: Minister of Defense Kono will soon announce the policy to deal with unidentified flying objects
https://news.livedoor.com/article/detail/18867793/
English Translation:
https://bit.ly/2G7mmPo

[Article]
2020-09-09 - Share News Japan: Minister Kono will soon announce how to deal with UFOs
https://sn-jp.com/archives/11756
English Translation:
https://bit.ly/36pppwT

[Twitter]
2020-09-11 - Tweet by Danny Silva
https://twitter.com/SilvaRecord/status/1304472003651473410

[Article]
2020-09-13 - UAP Scientific Research Blog: Japan and UAP - by Keith Basterfield
https://ufos-scientificresearch.blogspot.com/2020/09/japan-and-uap.html

[Article]
2020-09-14 - Vice: Japanese Military Announces It Will Track UFOs
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/v7gkxx/japanese-military-announces-it-will-track-ufos

[Article]
2020-09-14 - TASS: Japan’s Self-Defense Forces get instructions what to do when sighting UFO
https://tass.com/science/1200495

[Video]
2020-09-14 - TV Tokyo NEWS: First UFO response policy for the Self-Defense Forces
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUEAj8ExHJs

[Video]
2020-09-14 - ANNnewsCH: Minister Kono instructed "If you see a UFO, record it" US released video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GG4dD7K3Nws
English Version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3j9_QwxHlc

[Article]
2020-09-14 - The Japan Times: Japanese Defense Ministry unveils protocol for encountering UFOs
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/09/14/national/japan-defense-ministry-ufo/

[Article]
2020-09-14 - NHK World Japan: Defense minister outlines responses to UFOs
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200914_33/

[Article]
2020-09-14 - Kyodo News: Japan defense chief instructs SDF what to do on UFO sightings
https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2020/09/f15a6d3ede73-japan-defense-chief-instructs-sdf-what-to-do-on-ufo-sightings.html

[Article]
2020-09-14 - Sandboxx: Japan Follows Us Navy Lead, Establishes Ufo Reporting Procedures
https://www.sandboxx.us/blog/japan-follows-us-navy-lead-establishes-ufo-reporting-procedures/

[Press Conference]
Transcript:
2020-09-15 - Japanese Ministry of Defense
https://www.mod.go.jp/j/press/kisha/2020/0915a.html
English Translation:
https://bit.ly/3mk5iG5
Video Version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqAvdGPJ8bo

[Article]
2020-09-15 - CNET: Here's how Japan wants its military to deal with UFOs
https://www.cnet.com/news/heres-how-japan-wants-its-military-to-deal-with-ufos/

[Article]
2020-09-15 - Sky News: Japanese military given instructions on UFOs
https://news.sky.com/story/japanese-military-given-instructions-on-ufos-12072428

[Twitter]
2020-09-16 - Tweet by George Knapp
https://twitter.com/g_knapp/status/1306298322504822786

[Article]
2020-09-16 - Film Daily: Does the Japanese Defense Ministry know something about real UFOs?
https://filmdaily.co/news/defense-ministry-ufos/

[Article]
2020-09-18 - Popular Mechanics: The Japanese Military Is Now Officially Tracking UFOs
https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/aviation/a34061578/japanese-military-tracking-ufos/

[Article]
2020-09-18 - The Diplomat: Japan’s Defense Ministry Launches Protocol for UFO Sightings
https://thediplomat.com/2020/09/japans-defense-ministry-launches-protocol-for-ufo-sightings/

[Video]
2020-09-26 - Open Minds TV: Rojas Report: Adam Kehoe, PhD on the UAP Task Force recent UAP news
(Japanese UFO Guidelines discussed from 30:09 minute mark)
https://youtu.be/sT-u-xJ4c4M?t=1809

[Video]
2020-09-27 - UFO News Network Sunday:UFO News Update with Steve Bassett and Tom Whitmore 9/27/2020
(Japanese UFO Guidelines referenced from 55:45 minute mark)
https://youtu.be/OpPIw_OSaNw?t=3345

[Article]
2020-09-27 - Fox 7: Japan is now tracking and investigating UFOs
https://www.fox7austin.com/news/japan-is-now-tracking-and-investigating-ufos

[Audio]
2020-09-28 - 77WABC Talk Radio: The Other Side of Midnight with Frank Morano: Interview with Nick Pope
(AATIP referenced)
(Segment starts from 66:59 minute mark. Japanese UFO guidelines discussed from 80:23 minute mark)
https://wabcradio.com/episode/the-other-side-of-midnight-9-28-20/

[Video]
2020-10-01 - Post Disclosure World: Breaking News: Japan Starts Investigating UFOs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUfsP0Cmg8o