Defense Minister Ishiba troubled by legal issues if UFOs arrive

Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Thursday that unidentified flying objects may exist and he would be troubled over potential legal issues if one arrives and it requires action by the Self-Defense Forces.
"There are no grounds that allow us to say definitively that they do not exist," Ishiba said regarding UFOs at a news conference, joining other top officials in talk about the subject triggered by a question from an opposition lawmaker. "Various possibilities should be considered."
"If Godzilla comes, typically it would require mobilization of SDF troops for disaster relief," the minister said, citing the monster character in the famous movie that destroys buildings and other things in sight. "It's the same with Mothra," he added, citing another character.
Ishiba indicated it would be difficult to determine on what legal grounds the SDF may be mobilized when, for instance, there is a violation of Japanese airspace but the violating subject is not hostile.
"Would that be mobilization for an act of defense? That would not be the case if they say, 'Everyone on the Earth, let us be friends,"' Ishiba said. "Or what can we do when we can't figure out what they're saying?"
Ishiba added he was only speaking his own personal views and he did not mean his ministry is working out ways to deal with UFOs.
Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's cabinet endorsed a position Tuesday that Japan believes the existence of UFOs is unconfirmed in response to a question posed by a Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker.