UFO Hot Spot In Japan Known For Multiple Sightings Now Dubbed 'Home To Aliens'

A rural community in Japan's Fukushima Prefecture that is supposedly a hotspot for extraterrestrial activity has started to promote itself as a "home to aliens" in an attempt to revitalize its local economy.

The town of Iino, once prosperous because of its silk production and weaving industries, now has a dwindling population of around 5,000 people. However, residents believe that the future can still be bright, Kyodo News reported.

People in Iino believe their town is a hotspot for UFOs, or unidentified flying objects, and they speak of repeated appearances of unknown luminous flying objects near the Senganmori mountain over the past four decades.

A UFO-centric museum, the aptly named Iino UFO Museum, also known as UFO Fureaikan, was even opened halfway up the 462-meter-high (1,515 feet) mountain in 1992 to display around 3,000 books, photos and other resources related to aliens and UFOs.

About 30,000 people from in and out of the prefecture visit the museum annually.

To mark the museum's 30th anniversary, Iino held a UFO festival last year where participants dressed in alien costumes took part in a parade and contest.

The town also has other extraterrestrial-themed objects, including UFO-shaped streetlights, bus stops, flags and a statue of an alien.

Iino believes that displaying its many pieces of UFO paraphernalia and holding events that appeal to enthusiasts will build a new future for the town and draw visitors with a passion for the extraterrestrial.

The use of UFOs as a community resource will also breathe life back into the entire area, according to Tetsu Konno, a retired employee of a major chemicals manufacturer who was selected by the government of Fukushima's eponymous capital city to help revitalize the district.

For now, the goal is reportedly to get visitors to the museum and to continue their journey into Iino, which features an old townscape and shopping street.

"When I heard from residents that they had seen bright lights while climbing Senganmori mountain, it made me want to believe in UFOs. I'd like to see one during my three-year stint," said Konno, a member of the International UFO Lab, which collects and disseminates UFO sighting reports to its members around the world.