1 00:00:01,875 --> 00:00:04,750 NARRATOR: Japan is a land rich with ancient mysteries. 2 00:00:04,917 --> 00:00:07,750 WILLIAM HENRY: In Japanese history there's been hundreds 3 00:00:07,875 --> 00:00:09,625 of sightings of mysterious lights 4 00:00:09,750 --> 00:00:13,500 that fly in the air and then also enter into the oceans. 5 00:00:14,750 --> 00:00:17,958 DAVID CHILDRESS: We have these underwater cities there 6 00:00:18,083 --> 00:00:21,750 that have strange energy associated with them. 7 00:00:22,750 --> 00:00:24,958 GIORGIO A. TSOUKALOS: You have these statues that look 8 00:00:25,083 --> 00:00:29,333 eerily similar to modern-day astronauts. 9 00:00:29,542 --> 00:00:32,625 NARRATOR: And recently, Japan has also become known 10 00:00:32,792 --> 00:00:36,792 as a hot spot for unidentified aerial phenomena. 11 00:00:36,958 --> 00:00:38,667 The Japanese government actually 12 00:00:38,875 --> 00:00:43,875 issued a policy to shoot down UFOs. 13 00:00:44,042 --> 00:00:48,250 NARRATOR: Could it be that the entire history of this island nation 14 00:00:48,417 --> 00:00:53,167 has been directed by extraterrestrial visitors? 15 00:00:53,333 --> 00:00:56,667 Ancient aliens brought Japan into the modern world. 16 00:01:00,250 --> 00:01:02,292 ♪ ♪ 17 00:01:06,542 --> 00:01:08,500 ♪ ♪ 18 00:01:23,417 --> 00:01:26,125 NARRATOR: At 2:46 p.m., the region is rocked 19 00:01:26,292 --> 00:01:29,042 by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake-- 20 00:01:29,208 --> 00:01:33,708 the most powerful to ever hit the island nation. 21 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:37,167 A little over 30 minutes later 22 00:01:37,375 --> 00:01:42,333 a tsunami with 130-foot-tall waves smashes into the area. 23 00:01:43,333 --> 00:01:46,250 Among the hardest hit locations is the nearby 24 00:01:46,458 --> 00:01:49,417 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. 25 00:01:50,333 --> 00:01:52,042 The power was cut out. 26 00:01:52,208 --> 00:01:54,667 The cooling system went down, and just this enormous 27 00:01:54,833 --> 00:01:56,792 amount of radiation went into the atmosphere. 28 00:01:57,875 --> 00:02:02,333 NARRATOR: Authorities evacuate the region and order a small team to stay 29 00:02:02,500 --> 00:02:06,208 behind to prevent a larger catastrophe from occurring. 30 00:02:07,167 --> 00:02:08,792 But days later, 31 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:10,625 videos posted on social media 32 00:02:10,792 --> 00:02:11,750 show these workers 33 00:02:11,917 --> 00:02:14,292 were not alone. 34 00:02:14,417 --> 00:02:17,000 TSOUKALOS: The video that we have of Fukushima, 35 00:02:17,208 --> 00:02:20,000 you see these bright golden orbs, 36 00:02:20,167 --> 00:02:22,875 many of them flying in formation. 37 00:02:23,042 --> 00:02:26,375 And of course, with all these orbs that we see, 38 00:02:26,542 --> 00:02:28,625 we know it's something technological. 39 00:02:30,167 --> 00:02:33,000 NARRATOR: Curiously, almost exactly ten years later, 40 00:02:33,167 --> 00:02:36,292 on February 13, 2021, 41 00:02:36,458 --> 00:02:40,667 the region is rocked by another powerful earthquake. 42 00:02:41,292 --> 00:02:43,375 Over the next two months, 43 00:02:43,500 --> 00:02:46,500 mysterious yellow orbs are observed 44 00:02:46,667 --> 00:02:50,417 hovering above the Fukushima nuclear power plant. 45 00:02:50,583 --> 00:02:52,208 TRAVIS TAYLOR: Recently, Japanese people 46 00:02:52,375 --> 00:02:54,542 have reported seeing UAPs in the region 47 00:02:54,750 --> 00:02:57,917 near the Fukushima reactor meltdown. 48 00:02:58,083 --> 00:03:00,417 It radiated a major part of Japan, 49 00:03:00,625 --> 00:03:03,125 but for some reason people are seeing 50 00:03:03,292 --> 00:03:05,333 UFO activity in the area. 51 00:03:06,542 --> 00:03:08,375 NARRATOR: What are the mysterious lights 52 00:03:08,542 --> 00:03:10,250 that have been seen flying 53 00:03:10,458 --> 00:03:13,667 over the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant? 54 00:03:13,875 --> 00:03:15,500 It's a question that prompted 55 00:03:15,667 --> 00:03:18,458 the Japanese government to take action. 56 00:03:18,583 --> 00:03:23,375 On May 28, 2024, the Japanese parliament 57 00:03:23,500 --> 00:03:26,167 announced the formation of an investigation 58 00:03:26,292 --> 00:03:28,875 unprecedented in modern Japan. 59 00:03:29,875 --> 00:03:35,083 In 2024 the Japanese government issued a mandate for 60 00:03:35,250 --> 00:03:37,042 a bipartisan 80-member panel 61 00:03:37,208 --> 00:03:41,917 to investigate the UAP situation. 62 00:03:42,083 --> 00:03:44,667 Now, why did they do that? 63 00:03:44,833 --> 00:03:47,292 I think mainly, the Japanese people were 64 00:03:47,500 --> 00:03:49,375 getting concerned with the things flying over 65 00:03:49,583 --> 00:03:52,375 their infrastructure and wanted to take precautions. 66 00:03:53,208 --> 00:03:55,042 (speaking Japanese) 67 00:03:55,208 --> 00:03:56,458 (translated): I have been deeply involved 68 00:03:56,625 --> 00:03:58,292 and I participated in the first 69 00:03:58,458 --> 00:04:00,875 general meeting and the second one as well. 70 00:04:01,917 --> 00:04:04,250 I believe that the government is taking the UAP issue 71 00:04:04,375 --> 00:04:06,625 more seriously from the viewpoint 72 00:04:06,792 --> 00:04:10,208 of national defense or national security. 73 00:04:13,208 --> 00:04:14,708 NARRATOR: Government officials have refrained 74 00:04:14,875 --> 00:04:17,458 from commenting on the events at Fukushima 75 00:04:17,583 --> 00:04:20,458 and other UAP sightings in Japan. 76 00:04:21,458 --> 00:04:24,333 But Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada 77 00:04:24,500 --> 00:04:26,792 recently issued radical new protocols 78 00:04:26,917 --> 00:04:30,708 for Japan's Air Self-Defense Force in the event 79 00:04:30,875 --> 00:04:35,292 of encountering UFOs in highly restricted areas like Fukushima. 80 00:04:36,417 --> 00:04:39,167 The Japanese government actually 81 00:04:39,375 --> 00:04:43,542 issued a policy, a guideline, to actually shoot down 82 00:04:43,708 --> 00:04:45,917 UAPs if they don't leave the areas 83 00:04:46,125 --> 00:04:50,500 over sensitive infrastructure like a nuclear reactor facility. 84 00:04:51,583 --> 00:04:54,708 So this shows that the government of Japan, 85 00:04:54,875 --> 00:04:56,500 and the military of Japan, 86 00:04:56,667 --> 00:05:00,500 take UFOs and UAPs very seriously. 87 00:05:00,708 --> 00:05:02,417 And that this is something that, you know, 88 00:05:02,625 --> 00:05:05,417 they are intensely interested in. 89 00:05:06,458 --> 00:05:08,042 NARRATOR: But while the Japanese government 90 00:05:08,208 --> 00:05:09,500 has only recently begun 91 00:05:09,667 --> 00:05:12,333 its first official UFO investigation, 92 00:05:12,542 --> 00:05:14,833 the people of Japan 93 00:05:14,958 --> 00:05:16,250 have shown a strong interest 94 00:05:16,458 --> 00:05:19,750 in unidentified flying objects for decades. 95 00:05:30,750 --> 00:05:34,333 Aviation journalist Yusuke Matsumura 96 00:05:34,500 --> 00:05:36,667 is leaving his house early in the morning 97 00:05:36,833 --> 00:05:40,542 when he spots a metallic disc hovering in the sky. 98 00:05:40,750 --> 00:05:44,708 Fortunately, Matsumura is carrying a camera, 99 00:05:44,875 --> 00:05:48,667 and takes the first ever photograph of a UFO in Japan. 100 00:05:49,625 --> 00:05:53,875 Inspired by his sighting, Matsumura created a group called 101 00:05:54,042 --> 00:05:55,667 the Cosmic Brotherhood. 102 00:05:56,667 --> 00:06:01,083 When the UFO craze really began in the 1950s, 103 00:06:01,250 --> 00:06:02,792 in Japan it was quite sedated. 104 00:06:02,958 --> 00:06:06,083 Reports were filed and basically forgotten 105 00:06:06,250 --> 00:06:08,500 as something a bit strange-- there was a weather balloon 106 00:06:08,667 --> 00:06:09,833 in the vicinity at that time, 107 00:06:10,042 --> 00:06:12,000 maybe it was a Korean spy plane. 108 00:06:12,208 --> 00:06:13,500 There was one exception, which was 109 00:06:13,667 --> 00:06:15,667 the Cosmic Brotherhood Association. 110 00:06:15,833 --> 00:06:18,708 And that was founded by Yusuke Matsumura. 111 00:06:19,750 --> 00:06:23,667 And he said, "No, no, no. All these UFOs are alien craft." 112 00:06:24,708 --> 00:06:29,625 In '64, the Cosmic Brotherhood Association started to build 113 00:06:29,792 --> 00:06:32,792 an altar in Biratori in Hokkaido, 114 00:06:32,917 --> 00:06:37,875 which is an absolutely massive thing as their place of contact. 115 00:06:40,667 --> 00:06:44,083 NARRATOR: The Cosmic Brotherhood built this altar as a place 116 00:06:44,208 --> 00:06:46,958 to communicate with extraterrestrials, 117 00:06:47,125 --> 00:06:48,708 and they selected the mountain 118 00:06:48,875 --> 00:06:51,833 because it was believed to be the landing spot of a god 119 00:06:52,042 --> 00:06:55,333 who traveled to Japan thousands of years ago. 120 00:06:56,333 --> 00:06:59,667 They chose Biratori because that was where the god Okikurumi 121 00:06:59,875 --> 00:07:03,083 had either come down to Earth or left Earth again. 122 00:07:03,250 --> 00:07:05,708 Which sounds like an ancient people 123 00:07:05,875 --> 00:07:08,250 trying to describe a first contact. 124 00:07:08,417 --> 00:07:10,792 So it seemed like, you know, a good spot. 125 00:07:10,958 --> 00:07:13,167 HENRY: The Cosmic Brotherhood organization 126 00:07:13,375 --> 00:07:16,500 emerged in Japan with a fascinating theory. 127 00:07:16,667 --> 00:07:19,667 They maintained that the very spot where 128 00:07:19,792 --> 00:07:23,500 Okikurumi is believed to have landed was considered to be 129 00:07:23,667 --> 00:07:27,083 a meeting place to meet extraterrestrial visitors. 130 00:07:29,667 --> 00:07:32,000 NARRATOR: 15 years after the Cosmic Brotherhood 131 00:07:32,208 --> 00:07:35,583 was formed, Japan was electrified by 132 00:07:35,708 --> 00:07:39,250 a series of extraordinary incidents that, to this day, 133 00:07:39,375 --> 00:07:43,083 remain the country's most famous UFO events. 134 00:07:52,083 --> 00:07:55,708 13-year-old junior high student Michio Seo 135 00:07:55,875 --> 00:07:59,500 observes a very small and peculiar object flying 136 00:07:59,667 --> 00:08:03,333 above a rice field, zigzagging back and forth. 137 00:08:04,333 --> 00:08:08,875 Later that night, he and several friends find the object again, 138 00:08:09,042 --> 00:08:12,708 only now it's emitting a pulsating silver light. 139 00:08:14,208 --> 00:08:15,542 (speaking Japanese) 140 00:08:15,708 --> 00:08:18,167 (translated): It's about this big, just about. 141 00:08:18,292 --> 00:08:20,500 A small object shaped like a doorknob. 142 00:08:20,625 --> 00:08:23,083 And this thing was flying. 143 00:08:24,250 --> 00:08:26,333 Finally, it fell into a rice paddy. 144 00:08:26,500 --> 00:08:28,750 So they caught it and then they went home 145 00:08:28,917 --> 00:08:31,083 and the people at home saw it. 146 00:08:34,792 --> 00:08:36,708 NARRATOR: The boys reported that the mysterious 147 00:08:36,875 --> 00:08:38,792 silver object was less than 148 00:08:38,917 --> 00:08:42,833 eight inches in diameter and weighed only three pounds. 149 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:45,667 The bottom surface was perforated with an array 150 00:08:45,875 --> 00:08:50,500 of tiny holes and imprinted with curious designs. 151 00:08:50,708 --> 00:08:52,500 But before it could be further examined, 152 00:08:52,667 --> 00:08:55,500 the object disappeared again. 153 00:08:56,458 --> 00:08:57,875 (speaking Japanese) 154 00:08:58,083 --> 00:09:00,667 (translated): There was more than one witness. 155 00:09:00,833 --> 00:09:03,458 A number of junior high school students saw the incident, 156 00:09:03,625 --> 00:09:05,750 and it definitely happened. 157 00:09:08,500 --> 00:09:10,167 NARRATOR: Another sensational incident 158 00:09:10,375 --> 00:09:11,792 involving schoolchildren 159 00:09:11,958 --> 00:09:14,667 occurred in Japan just three years later, 160 00:09:14,792 --> 00:09:16,917 and this time it included 161 00:09:17,042 --> 00:09:20,917 a face-to-face encounter with an alien entity. 162 00:09:23,333 --> 00:09:25,500 (speaking Japanese) 163 00:09:25,708 --> 00:09:26,958 (translated): In this incident, 164 00:09:27,125 --> 00:09:30,875 a UFO landed and an alien appeared from inside. 165 00:09:31,042 --> 00:09:34,000 Two elementary school children encountered the alien, 166 00:09:34,208 --> 00:09:37,750 and one of them was tapped on the shoulder by the alien. 167 00:09:39,375 --> 00:09:42,875 Later, when a scientist analyzed the soil where it landed, 168 00:09:43,042 --> 00:09:47,208 they found a radioactive substance, phosphorus-32, 169 00:09:47,375 --> 00:09:49,542 which cannot be found in nature. 170 00:09:49,708 --> 00:09:52,167 The fact that phosphorus-32 was produced 171 00:09:52,333 --> 00:09:56,000 is evidence that there was an object that emits radiation. 172 00:09:56,125 --> 00:09:58,542 So, there was definitely an incident. 173 00:10:01,333 --> 00:10:05,083 NARRATOR: While reports of UFO sightings throughout the 20th century 174 00:10:05,250 --> 00:10:08,917 received little attention from the Japanese government, 175 00:10:09,083 --> 00:10:12,125 recent encounters with unidentified aerial phenomena 176 00:10:12,292 --> 00:10:14,333 have sparked a call to action. 177 00:10:14,500 --> 00:10:17,458 And Japan is now at the forefront 178 00:10:17,625 --> 00:10:20,583 of investigating UFO activity. 179 00:10:21,625 --> 00:10:24,042 But why does Japan seem to be experiencing such 180 00:10:24,208 --> 00:10:27,167 an increase in unusual sightings? 181 00:10:28,208 --> 00:10:32,792 Perhaps the answer can be found by examining ancient figurines 182 00:10:32,958 --> 00:10:36,958 that are believed to depict otherworldly beings. 183 00:10:47,333 --> 00:10:50,792 NARRATOR: American archaeologist Edward Sylvester Morse 184 00:10:50,917 --> 00:10:53,583 is excavating an ancient shell mound 185 00:10:53,750 --> 00:10:56,875 when he unearths unique cord-marked pottery. 186 00:10:58,375 --> 00:11:01,417 The artifacts are among the oldest ever discovered 187 00:11:01,583 --> 00:11:05,125 in Japan and Morse uses the term "Jomon," 188 00:11:05,292 --> 00:11:07,833 meaning "cord-marked" to identify the mysterious 189 00:11:08,042 --> 00:11:11,250 ancient culture that made them. 190 00:11:11,375 --> 00:11:15,167 The Jomon are one of the main Indigenous peoples 191 00:11:15,375 --> 00:11:17,750 of Japan, historically. 192 00:11:18,750 --> 00:11:20,542 They dominated the archipelago 193 00:11:20,708 --> 00:11:25,917 from about 15,000 BCE to 300 BCE. 194 00:11:26,042 --> 00:11:28,875 And not much is known about them. 195 00:11:29,042 --> 00:11:33,833 It's a fairly mysterious or poorly understood culture. 196 00:11:33,917 --> 00:11:36,792 What we know about Jomon culture is 197 00:11:36,917 --> 00:11:39,583 restricted to material culture. 198 00:11:39,750 --> 00:11:41,833 It's the stuff that we dig up from the ground. 199 00:11:42,042 --> 00:11:44,542 The striking thing about the Jomon people 200 00:11:44,708 --> 00:11:48,042 and Jomon culture is that it is unusually 201 00:11:48,208 --> 00:11:50,708 advanced for what we would expect 202 00:11:50,875 --> 00:11:53,208 for a hunter-gatherer group. 203 00:11:53,375 --> 00:11:58,125 Jomon pottery is very elaborate and the idea 204 00:11:58,250 --> 00:12:00,875 that a "hunter-gatherer" group of people 205 00:12:01,042 --> 00:12:02,500 would even develop pottery 206 00:12:02,667 --> 00:12:04,500 is itself-- kind of flies in the face of 207 00:12:04,667 --> 00:12:06,792 traditional anthropological distinctions 208 00:12:06,958 --> 00:12:11,000 between hunter-gatherer and agriculturalist people. 209 00:12:12,542 --> 00:12:15,875 NARRATOR: The Jomon's most mysterious artifacts 210 00:12:16,042 --> 00:12:19,583 are small statues depicting strange-looking figures 211 00:12:19,750 --> 00:12:22,083 that are referred to as the Dogu. 212 00:12:23,208 --> 00:12:27,292 The Dogu statues are one of the smoking guns 213 00:12:27,458 --> 00:12:29,250 of the ancient astronaut theory. 214 00:12:29,417 --> 00:12:34,042 You have these statues that look like some type of beings inside 215 00:12:34,208 --> 00:12:38,833 of a pressurized suit completely hermetically sealed. 216 00:12:39,917 --> 00:12:43,833 You have these helmet-type enclosures on top of their heads 217 00:12:43,958 --> 00:12:47,000 with giant goggle eyes. 218 00:12:47,167 --> 00:12:50,625 And an engineer by the name of Vaughn Greene 219 00:12:50,792 --> 00:12:52,542 wrote a book and proposed 220 00:12:52,708 --> 00:12:58,167 that what we're looking at here is a modern-type space suit. 221 00:12:58,375 --> 00:13:01,000 He compared and contrasted modern-day 222 00:13:01,167 --> 00:13:05,292 space and diving suits with these Dogu statues. 223 00:13:05,417 --> 00:13:10,875 And for 30 points they matched exactly. 224 00:13:11,042 --> 00:13:13,792 And what's so interesting too is that the correlation 225 00:13:13,917 --> 00:13:17,000 between the Dogu figures and their mythology is 226 00:13:17,167 --> 00:13:20,250 that these beings descended from the sky. 227 00:13:21,458 --> 00:13:24,833 NARRATOR: Although the Jomon people left no written records, 228 00:13:25,042 --> 00:13:28,000 it is believed that they developed Shinto, 229 00:13:28,125 --> 00:13:31,125 Japan's Indigenous religion. 230 00:13:31,292 --> 00:13:34,000 Shinto beliefs hold that thousands of gods 231 00:13:34,167 --> 00:13:38,083 descended on Japan from the sky. 232 00:13:39,208 --> 00:13:43,500 STEAVU: The Shinto religion is the only Indigenous 233 00:13:43,708 --> 00:13:45,333 Japanese religious tradition. 234 00:13:45,458 --> 00:13:49,833 Shinto translates as "the way of the gods" 235 00:13:50,042 --> 00:13:52,792 or "the way of the Kami," 236 00:13:52,958 --> 00:13:55,917 the Kami being these divine beings or gods. 237 00:13:56,958 --> 00:13:59,458 Kami in the Japanese native religion of Shinto 238 00:13:59,625 --> 00:14:01,000 can take on a variety of forms. 239 00:14:02,208 --> 00:14:04,500 This included the heavenly Kami who are 240 00:14:04,667 --> 00:14:06,500 the ones who live in heaven, 241 00:14:06,708 --> 00:14:09,958 and earthly Kami who live in the Japanese archipelago. 242 00:14:11,083 --> 00:14:14,000 STEAVU: These heavenly Kamis intermingled and 243 00:14:14,125 --> 00:14:16,167 procreated with the earthly ones 244 00:14:16,333 --> 00:14:19,292 and eventually this formed the human race as well. 245 00:14:20,792 --> 00:14:24,042 So, from the moment in which humans appear, 246 00:14:24,208 --> 00:14:29,250 this is a different era in this Shinto cosmology, 247 00:14:29,417 --> 00:14:33,042 which is known as the era of humans. 248 00:14:33,250 --> 00:14:37,167 And this is when we have a kind of hybrid race, 249 00:14:37,375 --> 00:14:42,292 a mixture of human and divine Kami stock. 250 00:14:43,292 --> 00:14:48,708 The idea that a divine race is breeding with humans 251 00:14:48,917 --> 00:14:52,458 is fundamentally the basis of Japanese religion. 252 00:14:52,625 --> 00:14:54,167 It's the basis of Shinto. 253 00:14:56,500 --> 00:14:58,750 NARRATOR: According to the Shinto tradition, 254 00:14:58,917 --> 00:15:01,667 before the establishment of the Japanese emperor, 255 00:15:01,833 --> 00:15:05,542 the island nation was ruled by gods. 256 00:15:06,583 --> 00:15:12,125 GRAHAM PHILLIPS: The first emperor was thought to have reigned around 700 BC. 257 00:15:12,333 --> 00:15:16,625 The period before that was known in Japanese mythology 258 00:15:16,792 --> 00:15:19,458 as the Age of the Gods. 259 00:15:20,708 --> 00:15:22,167 The reason is because it was said 260 00:15:22,333 --> 00:15:25,208 that the gods walked amongst humans, 261 00:15:25,375 --> 00:15:30,833 which is very similar to the ancient Egyptian mythology 262 00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:34,042 where the Pyramid Texts 263 00:15:34,167 --> 00:15:38,167 describe the early period of 264 00:15:38,292 --> 00:15:42,500 Egyptian history as the golden age of the gods. 265 00:15:44,250 --> 00:15:47,167 NARRATOR: As told in the ancient Japanese texts, the Kojiki, 266 00:15:47,333 --> 00:15:51,333 a man named Jimmu, a divine descendant of the Sun goddess 267 00:15:51,542 --> 00:15:56,667 Amaterasu is chosen by the gods to be Japan's first emperor. 268 00:15:58,667 --> 00:16:00,292 But in order to take the throne, 269 00:16:00,417 --> 00:16:03,708 Jimmu must journey from the southern island of Kyushu 270 00:16:03,875 --> 00:16:05,333 to the Yamato Province, 271 00:16:05,458 --> 00:16:08,667 roughly 500 miles to the northeast, 272 00:16:08,833 --> 00:16:11,250 navigating mountainous terrain 273 00:16:11,417 --> 00:16:14,500 and battling warlords along the way. 274 00:16:14,708 --> 00:16:17,375 What's so fascinating about the ascent of Jimmu 275 00:16:17,583 --> 00:16:22,167 to the throne around 600 BC is the fact 276 00:16:22,375 --> 00:16:26,333 that this is, in my opinion, one of those legends 277 00:16:26,542 --> 00:16:30,042 that perfectly fits into the ancient astronaut theory 278 00:16:30,208 --> 00:16:33,542 because it involves misunderstood technology 279 00:16:33,708 --> 00:16:36,583 and a celestial visitor. 280 00:16:36,750 --> 00:16:39,333 It is said that Jimmu was guided by 281 00:16:39,542 --> 00:16:43,958 a three-legged crow called Yatagarasu. 282 00:16:44,125 --> 00:16:46,333 And this so-called crow 283 00:16:46,458 --> 00:16:50,000 was given to Jimmu by Amaterasu-- 284 00:16:50,208 --> 00:16:53,708 the first goddess that descended from the sky. 285 00:16:53,917 --> 00:16:55,208 PHILLIPS: The stories are that this 286 00:16:55,375 --> 00:16:58,333 three-legged crow was huge 287 00:16:58,542 --> 00:17:02,500 and it was surrounded by a white globe of light. 288 00:17:02,708 --> 00:17:03,917 (crow cawing) 289 00:17:04,042 --> 00:17:05,500 TSOUKALOS: The ancient astronaut theory 290 00:17:05,708 --> 00:17:08,250 tries to understand 291 00:17:08,458 --> 00:17:11,000 what it is our ancestors tried to 292 00:17:11,167 --> 00:17:15,042 explain to us because one thing is crystal clear: 293 00:17:15,208 --> 00:17:17,875 There is no three-legged crow, so the question then is, 294 00:17:18,042 --> 00:17:20,958 well, why, how did that come about? 295 00:17:21,125 --> 00:17:24,458 This to me sounds like some type of an aerial 296 00:17:24,625 --> 00:17:29,167 drone technology with which to survey the ground 297 00:17:29,292 --> 00:17:31,292 that our ancestors witnessed 298 00:17:31,417 --> 00:17:33,583 without knowing anything about technology. 299 00:17:35,125 --> 00:17:37,292 NARRATOR: Does the story of Jimmu reveal 300 00:17:37,458 --> 00:17:41,833 extraterrestrial intervention in ancient Japan? 301 00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:44,000 Perhaps further clues can be found 302 00:17:44,167 --> 00:17:47,458 by examining mysterious relics of immense power 303 00:17:47,667 --> 00:17:49,417 that the imperial family 304 00:17:49,583 --> 00:17:53,250 has hidden from the public for centuries. 305 00:18:05,375 --> 00:18:08,125 NARRATOR: Japan celebrates the ascension of its new emperor 306 00:18:08,292 --> 00:18:12,583 Naruhito, who takes the throne at age 59. 307 00:18:12,750 --> 00:18:15,750 He is the latest emperor in the longest running 308 00:18:15,958 --> 00:18:18,542 royal family on earth. 309 00:18:20,583 --> 00:18:24,167 Japan's imperial family known as the Chrysanthemum Throne 310 00:18:24,375 --> 00:18:27,667 dates back an incredible 2,700 years. 311 00:18:28,708 --> 00:18:32,542 Most dynasties, if they last several hundred years, 312 00:18:32,708 --> 00:18:34,833 that's a good run. 313 00:18:34,958 --> 00:18:38,708 Monarchies do not last 2,700 years, 314 00:18:38,875 --> 00:18:40,333 so it's extraordinary 315 00:18:40,542 --> 00:18:44,167 that Japan's imperial family has lasted this long. 316 00:18:45,667 --> 00:18:49,292 NARRATOR: The elaborate ceremony involved a series of sacred rituals, 317 00:18:49,458 --> 00:18:52,167 but the most important of these events 318 00:18:52,333 --> 00:18:55,167 is also the most mysterious. 319 00:18:55,375 --> 00:18:57,750 In the state room of the Imperial Palace, 320 00:18:57,958 --> 00:19:00,000 the new emperor was presented 321 00:19:00,125 --> 00:19:01,708 with several boxes that are filled 322 00:19:01,917 --> 00:19:03,458 with treasures so secret, 323 00:19:03,667 --> 00:19:06,208 they've never been seen in public. 324 00:19:06,375 --> 00:19:09,833 They contain Japan's imperial regalia. 325 00:19:11,167 --> 00:19:16,167 STEAVU: The imperial regalia are a set of three divine treasures. 326 00:19:16,292 --> 00:19:18,750 The first one is a sacred sword. 327 00:19:18,875 --> 00:19:22,792 The second is a sacred mirror, or divine mirror. 328 00:19:22,958 --> 00:19:26,917 And the third is a curved jewel, which is also divine in nature. 329 00:19:27,125 --> 00:19:30,792 TSOUKALOS: They're being kept under lock and key because 330 00:19:30,917 --> 00:19:34,375 not only are they sacred, but some people have proposed 331 00:19:34,542 --> 00:19:36,958 that they are of otherworldly origin. 332 00:19:37,083 --> 00:19:39,958 And it's accepted as fact. 333 00:19:40,125 --> 00:19:41,458 HENRY: These sacred items 334 00:19:41,625 --> 00:19:44,000 are the ultimate treasures of Japan. 335 00:19:44,167 --> 00:19:46,125 In fact, at the end of World War II, 336 00:19:46,250 --> 00:19:50,083 Emperor Hirohito was deathly afraid that should 337 00:19:50,250 --> 00:19:52,167 Japan be invaded, these sacred treasures 338 00:19:52,333 --> 00:19:54,708 could ultimately be possessed by 339 00:19:54,875 --> 00:19:57,750 the United States Army or some other invading power. 340 00:19:57,875 --> 00:20:01,833 And this was said to be one of the reasons why he surrendered 341 00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:06,375 to General MacArthur, was to actually protect these relics. 342 00:20:07,542 --> 00:20:10,500 NARRATOR: According to legend, the imperial regalia 343 00:20:10,708 --> 00:20:13,417 are gifts from the Sun goddess Amaterasu 344 00:20:13,542 --> 00:20:17,000 that were passed down to Japan's first emperor, Jimmu, 345 00:20:17,208 --> 00:20:19,375 who was her direct descendant. 346 00:20:21,375 --> 00:20:23,708 Legend has it that each of the three objects 347 00:20:23,917 --> 00:20:26,250 possess supernatural powers. 348 00:20:26,417 --> 00:20:30,333 The most mysterious is the curved jewel. 349 00:20:30,542 --> 00:20:32,583 The jewel is a big question mark. 350 00:20:32,750 --> 00:20:36,458 We don't really see it referred to in-in other myths. 351 00:20:36,667 --> 00:20:38,833 It's not clear what its purpose or provenance is. 352 00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:42,500 CHILDRESS: These three objects are held in boxes. 353 00:20:42,708 --> 00:20:46,667 And ancient records in Japan say that there was an emperor 354 00:20:46,750 --> 00:20:50,667 who decided to open one of these boxes with the jewel in it. 355 00:20:50,833 --> 00:20:54,375 And that a white smoke started coming out of it. 356 00:20:54,500 --> 00:20:56,500 And so he ordered it closed again. 357 00:20:56,708 --> 00:20:59,333 So you just have to wonder, what's in this box? 358 00:20:59,542 --> 00:21:02,542 Could it be some extraterrestrial device 359 00:21:02,708 --> 00:21:05,250 that has an energy coming out of it? 360 00:21:05,833 --> 00:21:09,208 NARRATOR: While very little is known about the jewel, 361 00:21:09,375 --> 00:21:11,583 much more has been written about the mirror, 362 00:21:11,750 --> 00:21:14,167 which is said to provide a direct connection 363 00:21:14,333 --> 00:21:16,667 to otherworldly beings. 364 00:21:17,708 --> 00:21:21,125 Amaterasu's mirror was supposedly given to the daughter 365 00:21:21,250 --> 00:21:24,417 of the 11th emperor of Japan, Yamato Hime. 366 00:21:24,542 --> 00:21:27,083 And she wandered Japan for 20 years looking 367 00:21:27,292 --> 00:21:29,333 for the right place to 368 00:21:29,500 --> 00:21:31,625 build the shrine that the mirror would be held in. 369 00:21:32,708 --> 00:21:35,875 MATSUURA: She came to a spot in what is now Mie Prefecture. 370 00:21:36,083 --> 00:21:37,500 And there was some kind of 371 00:21:37,667 --> 00:21:38,542 communication through the mirror where, 372 00:21:38,708 --> 00:21:40,833 this is where the Amaterasu 373 00:21:41,042 --> 00:21:42,417 wanted her shrine to be built. 374 00:21:42,583 --> 00:21:44,458 And it was built. 375 00:21:44,625 --> 00:21:45,667 To this day it's still there, 376 00:21:45,875 --> 00:21:47,750 the Grand Shrine of Ise. 377 00:21:48,875 --> 00:21:51,917 NARRATOR: In addition to communicating with Amaterasu, 378 00:21:52,083 --> 00:21:54,583 the mirror could also be used to see what was 379 00:21:54,708 --> 00:21:57,333 happening worldwide in real time. 380 00:21:58,958 --> 00:22:01,042 (speaking Japanese) 381 00:22:01,208 --> 00:22:04,375 (translated): I think this is probably a tablet. 382 00:22:04,542 --> 00:22:09,375 Using something like FaceTime communicating with the gods. 383 00:22:09,542 --> 00:22:13,875 But it only works for people who have been chosen to use it. 384 00:22:14,042 --> 00:22:16,000 (speaking Japanese) 385 00:22:17,458 --> 00:22:19,583 NARRATOR: Could it be that Amaterasu's mirror 386 00:22:19,750 --> 00:22:22,417 was an extraterrestrial device 387 00:22:22,583 --> 00:22:26,083 similar to what we know today as a tablet? 388 00:22:26,250 --> 00:22:29,458 Ancient astronaut theorists say yes, 389 00:22:29,625 --> 00:22:33,708 and suggest further evidence that the imperial regalia 390 00:22:33,875 --> 00:22:37,833 contains advanced alien technology can be found by 391 00:22:37,958 --> 00:22:42,667 examining the third object, the sacred sword. 392 00:22:42,875 --> 00:22:45,875 STEAVU: Yamato Takeru, the 12th emperor of Japan, 393 00:22:46,042 --> 00:22:48,833 famously discovered that the sword had a magical power. 394 00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:53,208 He was trapped by a treacherous warlord, 395 00:22:53,417 --> 00:22:58,542 who intended to eliminate him by burning him 396 00:22:58,708 --> 00:23:01,000 alive in a field of grass. 397 00:23:02,208 --> 00:23:06,833 And when Yamato Takeru started hacking away at the grass to 398 00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:10,667 remove the fuel from the fire, he noticed that the swings 399 00:23:10,875 --> 00:23:13,333 of his swords were actually producing wind 400 00:23:13,500 --> 00:23:16,417 and pushing the flames in the opposite direction. 401 00:23:16,542 --> 00:23:19,917 So he used this magical power that he discovered 402 00:23:20,042 --> 00:23:22,042 to actually fan the flames in the direction 403 00:23:22,208 --> 00:23:26,167 of the warlord and his troops and burn them. 404 00:23:26,375 --> 00:23:28,875 The last time this sword was viewed publicly 405 00:23:29,042 --> 00:23:30,667 was in the 1600s. 406 00:23:30,833 --> 00:23:33,167 A priest named Masanou had gathered some other priests 407 00:23:33,292 --> 00:23:36,875 and they went to the shrine where the sword was located, 408 00:23:37,042 --> 00:23:39,000 intent on doing repairs. 409 00:23:39,208 --> 00:23:43,625 STEAVU: They happen to open the box in which the sword is contained 410 00:23:43,792 --> 00:23:46,625 in order to better clean it and maintain it. 411 00:23:46,792 --> 00:23:50,000 And he describes this sword as being made 412 00:23:50,208 --> 00:23:52,625 of a very brilliant white metal, 413 00:23:52,833 --> 00:23:55,333 almost supernatural type of metal. 414 00:23:55,542 --> 00:23:59,125 And it didn't show any signs of age, 415 00:23:59,250 --> 00:24:01,708 or rust, or any decay on it. 416 00:24:02,583 --> 00:24:04,083 Everybody around the sword 417 00:24:04,250 --> 00:24:07,833 developed some kind of affliction and died soon after 418 00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:09,750 opening it and then looking at it. 419 00:24:09,875 --> 00:24:14,833 But one priest survived to report what happened. 420 00:24:15,875 --> 00:24:19,458 TSOUKALOS: This is interesting to me, because there is a connection 421 00:24:19,625 --> 00:24:24,542 between celestial objects and people dying. 422 00:24:24,708 --> 00:24:27,167 For example, the Ark of the Covenant comes to mind. 423 00:24:28,208 --> 00:24:31,875 Whoever did not know how to operate the Ark died 424 00:24:32,042 --> 00:24:34,250 of unknown conditions 425 00:24:34,417 --> 00:24:37,208 and the unknown conditions are 426 00:24:37,375 --> 00:24:42,792 boils on the skin, the falling out of fingernails and hair. 427 00:24:42,958 --> 00:24:45,583 Well, what unknown disease is that? 428 00:24:45,750 --> 00:24:48,042 It's radioactive fallout. 429 00:24:48,208 --> 00:24:51,000 That's the only way that this really can happen. 430 00:24:51,167 --> 00:24:54,875 So, is it possible that there are potentially 431 00:24:55,042 --> 00:24:59,500 radioactive extraterrestrial artifacts here on Earth? 432 00:24:59,625 --> 00:25:02,292 The answer is a resounding yes. 433 00:25:03,333 --> 00:25:05,500 NARRATOR: Could the closely guarded ancient relics 434 00:25:05,708 --> 00:25:07,292 that have been hidden from the public 435 00:25:07,417 --> 00:25:12,250 for thousands of years be extraterrestrial in origin? 436 00:25:13,292 --> 00:25:16,500 And if so, have they been used over the centuries 437 00:25:16,625 --> 00:25:19,833 to keep the Japanese royal family in power? 438 00:25:20,042 --> 00:25:23,000 The true nature of the imperial regalia 439 00:25:23,208 --> 00:25:26,042 may only ever be known to the emperor, 440 00:25:26,208 --> 00:25:30,792 but ancient astronaut theorists suggest other artifacts 441 00:25:30,917 --> 00:25:33,542 that point to Japan's extraterrestrial past 442 00:25:33,708 --> 00:25:36,833 are hiding in plain sight. 443 00:25:44,042 --> 00:25:46,667 NARRATOR: One of the greatest mysteries of the ancient world 444 00:25:46,792 --> 00:25:49,708 is why enormous stone structures 445 00:25:49,917 --> 00:25:52,333 appear on nearly every continent. 446 00:25:53,542 --> 00:25:56,042 And at one time, megalithic monuments 447 00:25:56,208 --> 00:25:59,792 could be found throughout the islands of Japan. 448 00:25:59,958 --> 00:26:03,417 Not many people know this, but ancient Japan was strewn 449 00:26:03,583 --> 00:26:05,292 with megaliths and henges. 450 00:26:05,417 --> 00:26:07,667 The ancient peoples of Japan had these stone monuments 451 00:26:07,875 --> 00:26:09,542 all over the place. 452 00:26:09,708 --> 00:26:13,250 During the samurai era, which was war all the time, 453 00:26:13,458 --> 00:26:17,167 most of them were ripped up and used to make castle walls 454 00:26:17,333 --> 00:26:18,750 and castle foundations. 455 00:26:18,917 --> 00:26:21,125 Some survived because they're so weird. 456 00:26:22,625 --> 00:26:24,500 NARRATOR: Perhaps the most curious, 457 00:26:24,667 --> 00:26:27,292 and awe-inspiring, of Japan's megaliths 458 00:26:27,458 --> 00:26:29,667 is Ishi-no-Hoden, 459 00:26:29,875 --> 00:26:34,375 a giant stone monument near Osaka carved out of the bedrock 460 00:26:34,542 --> 00:26:38,167 and believed to date back 16,000 years. 461 00:26:39,375 --> 00:26:42,792 The Ishi-no-Hoden megalith is 462 00:26:42,958 --> 00:26:44,958 sometimes called the heavenly floating rock. 463 00:26:45,083 --> 00:26:47,958 It's huge, probably around 500 tons. 464 00:26:48,083 --> 00:26:53,833 It's about a 20-foot square cube that has been 465 00:26:54,000 --> 00:26:58,000 built in such a strange way that underneath it, 466 00:26:58,167 --> 00:27:01,833 there's a base that holds it up above the ground, 467 00:27:01,958 --> 00:27:05,083 so it appears for all the world to be hovering in the air. 468 00:27:05,292 --> 00:27:07,750 It is said to commemorate 469 00:27:07,917 --> 00:27:12,250 a god that once came to Earth in a huge 470 00:27:12,375 --> 00:27:17,333 cubic-shaped object and landed somewhere in that area. 471 00:27:18,375 --> 00:27:21,167 TSOUKALOS: In Japanese mythologies and legends, 472 00:27:21,333 --> 00:27:23,167 it says that long ago 473 00:27:23,333 --> 00:27:27,750 physical gods were amongst our ancestors 474 00:27:27,917 --> 00:27:32,792 that had the capability of flying or of flight. 475 00:27:33,333 --> 00:27:39,042 So, the fact that they used this water mirror underneath 476 00:27:39,208 --> 00:27:44,167 this stone to show as if it is hovering and floating 477 00:27:44,333 --> 00:27:49,500 in the air, to me, is to signify flight. 478 00:27:50,875 --> 00:27:55,167 NARRATOR: Curiously, Ishi-no-Hoden is not the only Japanese megalith 479 00:27:55,333 --> 00:27:56,958 that appears to document 480 00:27:57,125 --> 00:28:00,250 an ancient extraterrestrial visitation. 481 00:28:02,042 --> 00:28:04,958 STEAVU: The Masuda-no-Iwafune, which translates to 482 00:28:05,125 --> 00:28:07,458 "the stone ship of Masuda," 483 00:28:07,583 --> 00:28:09,875 is another megalithic structure. 484 00:28:10,042 --> 00:28:13,958 This is an even larger granite megalith 485 00:28:14,083 --> 00:28:18,083 30 feet across and about 20 feet in width 486 00:28:18,250 --> 00:28:24,167 and 15 or so in height that has a central depression or trough. 487 00:28:25,250 --> 00:28:30,667 PHILLIPS: This monolith is said to have marked the Earth side 488 00:28:30,833 --> 00:28:32,500 of a so-called floating bridge 489 00:28:32,625 --> 00:28:36,500 that connected Earth to the heavens. 490 00:28:36,667 --> 00:28:39,000 Now, what is a floating bridge? 491 00:28:39,167 --> 00:28:43,667 It's described as something that the gods descend in. 492 00:28:43,833 --> 00:28:46,333 STEAVU: There is a story in Shinto annals 493 00:28:46,458 --> 00:28:49,792 about the bridge that unites 494 00:28:49,958 --> 00:28:52,167 the earthly realm with the heavenly realm 495 00:28:52,292 --> 00:28:55,167 collapsing and falling onto the Earth. 496 00:28:55,375 --> 00:28:57,500 So, these megaliths, according to some, 497 00:28:57,625 --> 00:29:00,167 are the remnants or the building blocks of this 498 00:29:00,375 --> 00:29:04,083 celestial bridge that has since collapsed. 499 00:29:05,375 --> 00:29:09,000 This floating bridge sounds exactly like the bridge 500 00:29:09,167 --> 00:29:12,875 Bifrost of the Nordic tradition upon which the gods would come 501 00:29:13,042 --> 00:29:16,583 and go from the Earth into the heavenly realms, or Asgard. 502 00:29:16,750 --> 00:29:19,167 This suggests that the same people 503 00:29:19,333 --> 00:29:21,917 are descending to these various cultures. 504 00:29:23,292 --> 00:29:25,042 NARRATOR: Might the Ishi-no-Hoden 505 00:29:25,208 --> 00:29:27,125 and Masuda-no-Iwafune megaliths 506 00:29:27,250 --> 00:29:30,292 have an extraterrestrial connection? 507 00:29:31,167 --> 00:29:33,917 Ancient astronaut theorists say yes, 508 00:29:34,042 --> 00:29:37,167 and suggest the most intriguing of Japan's 509 00:29:37,333 --> 00:29:39,875 megalithic structures can be found 510 00:29:40,042 --> 00:29:42,125 beneath the sea. 511 00:29:44,750 --> 00:29:47,750 On the western tip of the Japanese archipelago 512 00:29:47,875 --> 00:29:50,833 lies the tiny island of Yonaguni. 513 00:29:51,042 --> 00:29:54,875 In 1986, scuba divers exploring 514 00:29:55,042 --> 00:29:58,208 just off the coast make a shocking discovery. 515 00:29:59,417 --> 00:30:01,958 60 feet beneath the ocean surface, 516 00:30:02,167 --> 00:30:07,417 they find a massive rectangular structure roughly 328 feet long 517 00:30:07,583 --> 00:30:10,333 and 196 feet wide. 518 00:30:10,542 --> 00:30:15,417 It has since become known as the Yonaguni Monument. 519 00:30:16,375 --> 00:30:20,208 PHILLIPS: The Yonaguni Monument is huge, 520 00:30:20,375 --> 00:30:24,167 and it looks for all the world like an artificial construction. 521 00:30:25,292 --> 00:30:27,625 There are steps. 522 00:30:27,750 --> 00:30:29,625 There are what appear to be columns 523 00:30:29,792 --> 00:30:32,292 and all sorts of geometric formations 524 00:30:32,458 --> 00:30:36,292 that seem to have been artificial constructions. 525 00:30:37,333 --> 00:30:41,625 Professor Masaki Kimura spent ten years 526 00:30:41,792 --> 00:30:45,167 examining the structure with divers 527 00:30:45,375 --> 00:30:48,208 and the most sophisticated equipment at the time, 528 00:30:48,375 --> 00:30:51,792 and he was convinced beyond any doubt 529 00:30:51,958 --> 00:30:54,917 that it was an artificial formation. 530 00:30:56,125 --> 00:30:59,083 TSOUKALOS: Yonaguni boggles the mind 531 00:30:59,250 --> 00:31:04,500 because at some point that was a land bridge that existed 532 00:31:04,667 --> 00:31:07,375 when the water levels were lower and that means 533 00:31:07,542 --> 00:31:09,500 we're talking around the last ice age, 534 00:31:09,708 --> 00:31:11,833 which was 10,000 or so BC. 535 00:31:12,042 --> 00:31:15,750 Now, that means that back then 536 00:31:15,917 --> 00:31:18,500 a culture must have existed 537 00:31:18,583 --> 00:31:23,167 to carve Yonaguni the way it appears today. 538 00:31:24,292 --> 00:31:27,250 NARRATOR: For ancient astronaut theorists, the possibility 539 00:31:27,417 --> 00:31:29,000 that the Japanese were building 540 00:31:29,167 --> 00:31:31,000 sophisticated megalithic monuments 541 00:31:31,167 --> 00:31:33,667 as much as 12,000 years ago 542 00:31:33,875 --> 00:31:35,833 is highly significant 543 00:31:36,000 --> 00:31:39,083 because in numerous cultures around the world, 544 00:31:39,208 --> 00:31:42,583 there are ancient stories about advanced civilizations 545 00:31:42,750 --> 00:31:45,833 that inhabited the Earth right around that time. 546 00:31:46,875 --> 00:31:50,042 If the Yonaguni monument is as old as we think it is, 547 00:31:50,208 --> 00:31:53,833 then this aligns this Japanese site with other sites 548 00:31:53,958 --> 00:31:57,625 in the Pacific, most notably Lemuria and Mu, 549 00:31:57,792 --> 00:32:00,333 which are thought to be pre-flood civilizations 550 00:32:00,542 --> 00:32:03,125 that had achieved an advanced state of civilization 551 00:32:03,292 --> 00:32:05,667 but were destroyed by cataclysm. 552 00:32:09,542 --> 00:32:13,250 NARRATOR: Could Yonaguni have been part of an advanced, prehistoric 553 00:32:13,375 --> 00:32:17,708 civilization that was submerged at the end of the last ice age? 554 00:32:18,750 --> 00:32:22,125 And did some of the survivors populate Japan? 555 00:32:22,250 --> 00:32:24,583 Perhaps further clues can be found 556 00:32:24,750 --> 00:32:28,167 by looking at the ocean region where Yonaguni lies, 557 00:32:28,375 --> 00:32:32,667 which is a hot spot of mysterious activity called 558 00:32:32,833 --> 00:32:34,542 the Dragon's Triangle. 559 00:32:46,083 --> 00:32:48,333 NARRATOR: The Japanese freighter Kaiyo Maru 560 00:32:48,500 --> 00:32:52,042 is en route to California when suddenly, 561 00:32:52,208 --> 00:32:55,208 the ship's instruments begin to fluctuate wildly. 562 00:32:56,250 --> 00:33:00,625 Just after 8:30 p.m., the crew watches in astonishment 563 00:33:00,833 --> 00:33:03,542 as a huge elliptical-shaped object 564 00:33:03,750 --> 00:33:05,708 suddenly appears on their radar. 565 00:33:06,917 --> 00:33:08,250 The mysterious craft, 566 00:33:08,458 --> 00:33:10,167 which is larger than a supertanker, 567 00:33:10,333 --> 00:33:12,625 circles them for several minutes, 568 00:33:12,792 --> 00:33:17,042 before it makes a sharp turn and heads straight for them. 569 00:33:18,167 --> 00:33:19,792 (speaking Japanese) 570 00:33:19,917 --> 00:33:23,458 (translated): A large object on radar approached the ship 571 00:33:23,583 --> 00:33:26,583 and passed overhead when they thought 572 00:33:26,708 --> 00:33:28,417 it was going to hit them. 573 00:33:29,417 --> 00:33:32,750 This was reported in newspapers at the time, 574 00:33:32,958 --> 00:33:37,500 especially in a scientific magazine called Nikkei Science, 575 00:33:37,625 --> 00:33:41,458 so it is known as a very famous incident. 576 00:33:44,375 --> 00:33:48,167 NARRATOR: This is just one of thousands of encounters reported 577 00:33:48,333 --> 00:33:50,375 in a part of the Pacific Ocean 578 00:33:50,583 --> 00:33:54,250 that stretches south of Japan down to Guam 579 00:33:54,458 --> 00:33:57,458 and the area of the Yonaguni Monument. 580 00:33:57,583 --> 00:34:00,750 It is known as "the Dragon's Triangle." 581 00:34:01,958 --> 00:34:04,833 1,500 vessels have disappeared 582 00:34:05,042 --> 00:34:06,583 in the Dragon's Triangle. 583 00:34:07,583 --> 00:34:09,833 Planes have disappeared in the triangle. 584 00:34:09,958 --> 00:34:14,500 What happened? But more important, why? 585 00:34:15,542 --> 00:34:18,125 Beginning in 1950, the Japanese government was so concerned 586 00:34:18,208 --> 00:34:19,875 about this area 587 00:34:20,042 --> 00:34:22,458 that they sent a research ship out 588 00:34:22,583 --> 00:34:27,792 and it too vanished with 22 crew and nine scientists aboard. 589 00:34:29,542 --> 00:34:32,833 TSOUKALOS: Is it possible that some ships have disappeared 590 00:34:32,958 --> 00:34:34,667 because of calamities and, you know, accidents? 591 00:34:34,875 --> 00:34:36,542 Sure. 592 00:34:37,667 --> 00:34:39,417 But is it also possible 593 00:34:39,583 --> 00:34:44,042 that perhaps some of these boats disappeared 594 00:34:44,208 --> 00:34:46,667 due to extraterrestrial interference? 595 00:34:46,833 --> 00:34:48,833 The answer to that is a resounding yes as well, 596 00:34:49,042 --> 00:34:53,708 because there are stories of other ships witnessing 597 00:34:53,875 --> 00:34:55,625 things happening with lights 598 00:34:55,792 --> 00:35:00,833 and objects hovering over the ocean and things like that. 599 00:35:03,500 --> 00:35:05,958 NARRATOR: Disappearances and strange sightings 600 00:35:06,083 --> 00:35:10,250 have not only been reported in this area in modern times 601 00:35:10,417 --> 00:35:12,667 but going back centuries. 602 00:35:13,667 --> 00:35:16,083 HENRY: Adding to the intrigue of the Devil's Triangle 603 00:35:16,250 --> 00:35:18,583 is the fact that in Japanese history there's been 604 00:35:18,750 --> 00:35:21,458 hundreds of sightings of mysterious lights 605 00:35:21,625 --> 00:35:24,958 that reach out from within the sea 606 00:35:25,125 --> 00:35:28,583 and absorb or sink these ships. 607 00:35:29,625 --> 00:35:32,167 Today we think of these as submersibles 608 00:35:32,333 --> 00:35:35,250 or transmedium craft that have the ability to 609 00:35:35,417 --> 00:35:40,000 fly in the air and then also enter into the ocean. 610 00:35:40,167 --> 00:35:44,958 CHILDRESS: You have to wonder if there's some underwater UFO base. 611 00:35:45,083 --> 00:35:49,583 And there's some hyperspace portal going on, or vortex. 612 00:35:50,958 --> 00:35:54,208 NARRATOR: Is it possible that hidden beneath the Pacific Ocean, 613 00:35:54,375 --> 00:35:57,083 somewhere within the Dragon's Triangle, 614 00:35:57,250 --> 00:36:00,000 there is an extraterrestrial base? 615 00:36:00,208 --> 00:36:03,500 Curiously, there have also been reports 616 00:36:03,667 --> 00:36:07,625 of sea monsters in this area dating back centuries. 617 00:36:08,667 --> 00:36:11,292 And the Dragon's Triangle was the location 618 00:36:11,458 --> 00:36:15,208 of Japan's most famous historical UFO encounter, 619 00:36:15,375 --> 00:36:18,458 known as the Utsuro Bune sighting. 620 00:36:21,000 --> 00:36:24,458 CLEMENTS: There's a really odd story from 1803 in Hitachi 621 00:36:24,625 --> 00:36:27,250 where a woman washes up on shore on the beach 622 00:36:27,417 --> 00:36:29,625 in a very strangely shaped boat. 623 00:36:29,792 --> 00:36:31,833 And when she comes out of the boat, 624 00:36:32,000 --> 00:36:34,542 she has white or pink skin. 625 00:36:34,708 --> 00:36:37,500 She has red hair with white tips, 626 00:36:37,625 --> 00:36:39,833 and she doesn't speak Japanese. 627 00:36:40,000 --> 00:36:42,833 And during this time, Japan is closed to the outside world, 628 00:36:42,958 --> 00:36:45,792 and it's a capital offense to interact with foreigners. 629 00:36:47,042 --> 00:36:48,333 So the people on the shore 630 00:36:48,500 --> 00:36:49,792 were absolutely terrified of this woman. 631 00:36:49,917 --> 00:36:51,667 They didn't know what to do. 632 00:36:51,833 --> 00:36:54,083 They put her back in the boat and they pushed it out again. 633 00:36:54,292 --> 00:36:56,708 And they reported it to the local lord, 634 00:36:56,917 --> 00:37:00,125 and they referred to her ship as the "utsoro bune," 635 00:37:00,292 --> 00:37:01,792 "the hollow ship." 636 00:37:03,000 --> 00:37:05,292 There are at least 11 different 637 00:37:05,375 --> 00:37:07,167 people who came forward and documented it. 638 00:37:07,292 --> 00:37:08,500 They drew pictures of it. 639 00:37:08,708 --> 00:37:11,375 There's paintings of what 640 00:37:11,542 --> 00:37:13,750 the ship looks like and what happened. 641 00:37:14,792 --> 00:37:18,083 HENRY: Her craft looks exactly like a flying saucer, 642 00:37:18,250 --> 00:37:19,750 a contemporary flying saucer. 643 00:37:19,875 --> 00:37:24,333 But this is in 1803, suggesting that this is one 644 00:37:24,542 --> 00:37:27,500 of the most extraordinary UFO sightings, perhaps not only 645 00:37:27,625 --> 00:37:30,542 in Japanese history but in all human history. 646 00:37:32,083 --> 00:37:35,042 NARRATOR: Does the Dragon's Triangle provide compelling evidence 647 00:37:35,250 --> 00:37:37,750 that an alien presence has existed on Earth 648 00:37:37,917 --> 00:37:41,375 in this area of Japan for thousands of years? 649 00:37:41,542 --> 00:37:44,583 Ancient astronaut theorists say yes, 650 00:37:44,750 --> 00:37:48,750 and suggest further evidence can be found 651 00:37:48,917 --> 00:37:51,833 by examining a sensational event that happened 652 00:37:51,958 --> 00:37:56,958 in Tokyo Bay, involving the U.S. military. 653 00:38:07,875 --> 00:38:11,458 NARRATOR: U.S. Naval officer, Commodore Matthew C. Perry, 654 00:38:11,583 --> 00:38:14,083 arrives with his American fleet 655 00:38:14,292 --> 00:38:18,833 to force Japan to end its policy of isolation. 656 00:38:19,042 --> 00:38:23,000 American ships were sent to Japan to try and get Japan to 657 00:38:23,167 --> 00:38:25,792 open up to the world because it had been pretty much 658 00:38:25,958 --> 00:38:27,500 closed off for centuries 659 00:38:27,708 --> 00:38:30,583 during the time of the Shogunate, 660 00:38:30,792 --> 00:38:33,083 the military rule in Japan. 661 00:38:33,208 --> 00:38:35,083 The emperor had continued to rule 662 00:38:35,250 --> 00:38:38,167 but only really as a puppet ruler. 663 00:38:39,208 --> 00:38:41,583 NARRATOR: The night Perry's fleet arrived in the bay, 664 00:38:41,708 --> 00:38:44,250 both the Americans and the Japanese 665 00:38:44,417 --> 00:38:48,125 were awed by a spectacular sight. 666 00:38:48,292 --> 00:38:50,792 PHILLIPS: Perry, he wrote a log, 667 00:38:50,917 --> 00:38:53,500 and he said that while they were in Tokyo Bay 668 00:38:53,625 --> 00:38:56,958 a strange, glowing blue object 669 00:38:57,167 --> 00:38:59,625 was seen in the skies that hovered over the ships. 670 00:38:59,792 --> 00:39:01,500 So bright was it at night, 671 00:39:01,625 --> 00:39:04,500 that it literally lit up all the ships. 672 00:39:04,583 --> 00:39:07,250 Underneath it was what he wrote and described 673 00:39:07,417 --> 00:39:11,583 as like the sparks from a rocket. 674 00:39:11,750 --> 00:39:14,417 And it hovered around the skies and eventually 675 00:39:14,583 --> 00:39:16,875 descended into the water. 676 00:39:17,042 --> 00:39:19,667 What we have in the case of Commodore Perry 677 00:39:19,833 --> 00:39:25,292 in Tokyo Bay in 1853 is a sighting that lasted 678 00:39:25,417 --> 00:39:29,833 four hours of a gigantic blue sphere 679 00:39:30,042 --> 00:39:34,458 up in the sky with a red wedge tail. 680 00:39:34,625 --> 00:39:36,208 What the heck is that? 681 00:39:36,375 --> 00:39:38,167 And it just stood there 682 00:39:38,375 --> 00:39:41,667 illuminating the entire Tokyo Bay. 683 00:39:42,792 --> 00:39:45,958 NARRATOR: Perry's mission not only led to the opening up 684 00:39:46,167 --> 00:39:48,208 and modernization of Japan, 685 00:39:48,375 --> 00:39:51,750 but also to the overthrow of the shoguns 686 00:39:51,958 --> 00:39:56,083 and the restoration of the imperial family to power. 687 00:39:57,375 --> 00:39:59,500 STEAVU: This re-initiated imperial rule 688 00:39:59,708 --> 00:40:02,250 that has lasted up until nowadays 689 00:40:02,375 --> 00:40:05,125 and brought it, if you will, 690 00:40:05,292 --> 00:40:07,292 back to Emperor Jimmu, 691 00:40:07,458 --> 00:40:10,208 establishing essentially an imperial rule 692 00:40:10,417 --> 00:40:12,833 of over 2,600 years. 693 00:40:14,167 --> 00:40:17,833 NARRATOR: According to some researchers, the remarkable UFO 694 00:40:18,042 --> 00:40:22,083 seen by Commodore Perry's fleet may have been a sign of approval 695 00:40:22,250 --> 00:40:25,542 from otherworldly beings who have been protecting 696 00:40:25,708 --> 00:40:28,875 the imperial family since its foundation. 697 00:40:29,083 --> 00:40:32,875 Ancient aliens established the Japanese imperial family, 698 00:40:33,042 --> 00:40:37,625 ancient aliens protected the Japanese imperial family 699 00:40:37,833 --> 00:40:40,167 and brought Japan into the modern world. 700 00:40:40,375 --> 00:40:42,708 HENRY: This is taken by some 701 00:40:42,875 --> 00:40:44,792 as an affirmation that perhaps 702 00:40:44,917 --> 00:40:48,000 while Commodore Perry is practicing gunboat diplomacy, 703 00:40:48,167 --> 00:40:50,625 maybe so too are the extraterrestrials who had 704 00:40:50,792 --> 00:40:53,625 a hand in the founding of the Imperial Dynasty. 705 00:40:55,042 --> 00:40:58,958 CHILDRESS: When we look at Japan and all of this ancient activity, 706 00:40:59,125 --> 00:41:03,250 the gods coming down, interacting and creating 707 00:41:03,417 --> 00:41:06,250 semi-god, semi-human hybrids and things. 708 00:41:06,375 --> 00:41:09,250 We have these underwater cities there. 709 00:41:09,417 --> 00:41:11,833 We have these special artifacts 710 00:41:12,042 --> 00:41:16,000 that have strange energy associated with them. 711 00:41:16,167 --> 00:41:19,292 All this really seems to add up that, 712 00:41:19,417 --> 00:41:21,750 you know, ancient astronaut theory 713 00:41:21,917 --> 00:41:25,417 is very much validated by the history of Japan. 714 00:41:26,458 --> 00:41:29,333 NARRATOR: From an imperial dynasty that traces its lineage 715 00:41:29,458 --> 00:41:30,833 to the gods, 716 00:41:31,000 --> 00:41:34,333 to a sensational mass UFO sighting 717 00:41:34,542 --> 00:41:37,333 occurring at a critical moment in history... 718 00:41:37,542 --> 00:41:42,208 to new government investigations into unexplained phenomena, 719 00:41:42,375 --> 00:41:44,750 has alien intervention 720 00:41:44,917 --> 00:41:49,333 been taking place in Japan for thousands of years? 721 00:41:49,542 --> 00:41:52,500 Perhaps the mysterious ancient megaliths 722 00:41:52,667 --> 00:41:56,250 that still stand on the island serve as a testament 723 00:41:56,375 --> 00:42:00,125 to an enduring connection with otherworldly beings 724 00:42:00,292 --> 00:42:05,417 who continue to watch over Japan even today. 725 00:42:05,542 --> 00:42:08,333 CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY A+E NETWORKS