The Kofu Incident: Japan’s Most Terrifying Close Encounter

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The enduring mystery of a landed UFO, a faceless alien with metal fangs, and the two boys whose story never wavered for 50 years.

In the world of ufology, certain cases transcend local curiosity to become global enigmas. They are defined by credible witnesses, physical evidence, and details so strange they defy easy explanation. For Japan, that case is unequivocally the Kofu Incident. More than just a fleeting light in the sky, it is a harrowing tale of a close encounter of the third kind—a story of two young boys, a landed craft in a vineyard, and a creature that continues to haunt the imagination a half-century later.

This is the definitive account of Japan’s most significant and unsettling UFO event.

A Quiet Evening Shattered

The date was February 23, 1975. In the city of Kofu, the prefectural capital of Yamanashi, nestled in the shadow of Mount Fuji, two seven-year-old cousins were enjoying the last moments of daylight. Masato Kawano and Katsuhiro Yamahata, both second-graders, were roller-skating near the Hinode housing estate as dusk settled around 6:30 PM.

Their childhood play was abruptly interrupted by two brilliant, glittering orange lights in the sky. One UFO continued its trajectory toward the nearby Mount Atago, but the other, smaller craft did something extraordinary: it descended rapidly and silently, coming to a rest in a vineyard just behind the estate.

Driven by a mixture of fear and boyish curiosity, they crept closer. What they saw would be seared into their memories forever.

The Craft and Its Occupant

There, perched on three distinct spherical legs, was a silver, dome-shaped disc. It was roughly 5 meters (16 feet) in diameter and 2 meters (6.5 feet) high. The boys later recalled seeing strange, unreadable characters embossed on its metallic hull. The only sound it made was a low, crackling or ticking noise, which one of the boys likened to a Geiger counter.

As they watched, a hatch opened. A figure emerged.

This was no “grey alien” of Western lore. The being stood approximately 1.2 meters (4 feet) tall. Its skin was dark brown and deeply wrinkled, devoid of any discernible eyes, nose, or mouth—a feature the boys would later describe as noppera-bō, a terrifying “faceless ghost” from Japanese folklore. It wore a glowing or reflective silver uniform. Its head had pointed, rabbit-like ears, and its hands had four fingers.

But the most chilling feature was in its mouthless face. Protruding from where a mouth should have been were three gleaming, metallic fangs, each estimated to be 5-8 cm (2-3 inches) long.

The creature disembarked and began to walk. It moved directly toward the boys. Masato, frozen in fear, watched as the being approached his cousin, Katsuhiro. It reached out one of its long arms and patted Katsuhiro on the shoulder twice. As it did, it uttered a series of sounds the boys described as “like a tape recorder playing backwards.”

The touch, or perhaps the sheer terror of the moment, caused Katsuhiro to collapse, seemingly paralyzed. Reacting with a surge of adrenaline, Masato grabbed his cousin and managed to carry him away from the scene, fleeing back towards the safety of their homes.

Corroboration and the Investigation

The boys burst into their homes, frantic and terrified. Their families, initially skeptical, were confronted with the undeniable panic in their children’s faces. The boys’ mothers, venturing outside, saw a pulsating orange light glowing brightly in the vineyard for several minutes before it suddenly intensified and shot up into the sky, vanishing.

They were not the only other witnesses. A janitor from the boys’ school and a woman driving nearby also reported seeing the strange lights in the sky above the vineyard at the same time.

The incident quickly drew the attention of the media and researchers. A high school science teacher, Mr. Maeda, brought a Geiger counter to the alleged landing site. His readings detected levels of radioactivity that were significantly above the natural background level.

Years later, in 2020, the Japan Space Phenomena Society (JSPS) re-examined the data and concluded that the radiation was not from a natural or known human source, consistent with the landing of an unknown aircraft.

The physical evidence at the site presented a bizarre puzzle. Three solid concrete posts in the vineyard were found broken or pushed over. A metal fence was bent as if a heavy weight had been placed upon it, and the ground bore indentations and what looked like tracks from a wheeled vehicle.

However, a contradiction emerged that skeptics often cite: despite the broken concrete posts, the grapevines and trees between them were completely untouched. Furthermore, the reported 5-meter diameter of the craft would have made it physically impossible for it to land in that specific spot without damaging the surrounding trees.

The official explanation from Japan’s Civil Aviation Bureau was swift and dismissive: the boys had likely mistaken the lights of a YS-11, a commercial propeller plane that was known to fly at around 1,000 meters in the area. This explanation has been widely rejected by researchers and the witnesses themselves, as it fails to account for a landed craft, a physical encounter with an entity, multiple adult witnesses on the ground, the physical traces, and the detected radioactivity.

An Enduring Legacy: Consistency and Cultural Revival

What makes the Kofu Incident so compelling is the unwavering consistency of the witnesses. For nearly 50 years, Masato Kawano and Katsuhiro Yamahata have never changed their story. They were interviewed separately numerous times, and their accounts always matched. In 2001, for a television program, they underwent hypnosis and recounted the same terrifying details they first described as seven-year-olds.

The trauma was real. For weeks after the event, both boys were too afraid to sleep alone. For years, Masato Kawano, tired of the ridicule from those who called it a hoax, chose to stop speaking about his experience publicly.

Yet, the story refused to die. It is considered one of Japan’s “Big Three” UFO incidents and has become a cornerstone of the nation’s paranormal lore.

Now, as the 50th anniversary approaches in 2025, the city of Kofu is embracing its unique history. A civic group, “UFOKOFU1975,” has been formed to revitalize the city by promoting it as a “UFO Town.” February 23rd has been officially registered as “Kofu UFO Day.” Local confectioners sell “UFO Dorayaki,” and a costume of the “Kofu Alien” is used at events. Plans for a monument at the site are underway.

After decades of silence, Masato Kawano has decided to cooperate with these efforts, recently appearing on television and at local events. He was moved by the desire to bring life back to his hometown, using the incredible story that shaped his own life as a catalyst.

Conclusion: A Case That Defies Explanation

The Kofu Incident remains a profound and unsolved mystery. It stands apart due to a rare convergence of factors:

Detailed Eyewitness Testimony: Two primary witnesses whose stories have remained consistent for half a century, even under hypnosis.

Multiple Corroborating Witnesses: Adults who independently confirmed the unusual lights at the specific time and location.

Physical Evidence: Broken concrete posts, ground traces, and scientifically verified, anomalous radioactivity at the site.

A Unique and Bizarre Entity: The description of the faceless, fanged alien is unlike almost any other in UFO literature, resisting easy categorization or claims of being a copy of pop culture tropes.

While skeptics point to contradictions like the undamaged trees, these paradoxes only deepen the mystery rather than debunk it. The official explanation of a conventional aircraft is woefully inadequate.

Fifty years on, the Kofu Incident is not just a cold case file. It is a living story—a tale of childhood terror that became a cultural touchstone, a local legend transforming into a modern tourist engine, and above all, a powerful testament to the enduring human experience of encountering the truly unknown. The faceless alien of the Kofu vineyard may be long gone, but its chilling legacy is here to stay.

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