Kofu City Landing — Yamanashi Prefecture Police Report

On the evening of February 23, 1975, two seven-year-old boys, Masato Kawano and Katsuhiro Yamahata, were playing near a vineyard in Kofu City, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan when they observed a reddish-orange disc approximately 5 metres in diameter descend and land on retractable strut-like legs in a vineyard. The craft had a dome on top and small windows around its midsection. When the boys approached, one — Katsuhiro — touched one of the landing legs. He immediately felt a strong numbing sensation up his arm and fell backwards. A figure approximately 4 feet tall was reportedly seen near the craft. After a moment the craft ascended silently at high speed. The boys returned home in distress; parents called the Yamanashi Prefectural Police. Officers from the Kofu Police Station responded to the vineyard and documented two circular indentations in the soil consistent with landing strut positions, spaced as described by the boys. A formal police report was filed. Katsuhiro's arm numbness was confirmed by a physician. The case was investigated by the Japan UFO Research Association and later reviewed by the Japanese Ministry of Defense's Air Staff Office. Physical evidence and police documentation made it one of the most formally recorded UAP landing cases in Japanese official records.