Kera Mini-UFO Incident (高知県毛利町UFO事件)

In August and September 1972, a group of middle-school students in Kochi City, Shikoku Island, Japan, had a series of extraordinary encounters with a small, metallic object that they observed repeatedly over rice paddies, photographed extensively, and — most remarkably — physically captured on one occasion. The Kera incident, named for the Kera district of Kochi where the encounters occurred, is unique in UAP case literature as one of the very few cases in which witnesses reported physically handling an unidentified craft, however briefly. The object was approximately 30 centimeters in diameter — the size of a large dinner plate — and shaped like a hat or flying saucer in miniature, with a domed upper section and a flat or slightly curved lower disc. It was metallic in appearance and emitted a blue glow. The boys observed it hovering and maneuvering over the rice paddies, making no sound, on multiple occasions over several weeks. They photographed it using a family camera, producing multiple images showing the object in different positions and orientations. On one occasion, the object descended to ground level and one of the boys was able to seize it. He described it as extremely cold to the touch and vibrating at high frequency. The group held the object for approximately two days before it was somehow lost or retrieved — accounts vary on the specifics. The extended possession of the object, if accurate, would be extraordinary in the annals of UAP encounters, where physical contact is reported only very rarely. The photographs were analyzed by Japanese researchers including Hayashi Mamoru, who found them technically consistent with a genuine small object rather than a thrown disk or other easily manufactured prop. The multiple photos taken from different angles and showing the object in different positions over rice paddy backgrounds provided more photographic documentation than most miniature UAP reports receive. The Kera incident is documented in Japanese UAP research literature as a unique case combining multiple photographs, extended observation over weeks, and the claim of physical capture — a combination not replicated in any other well-documented case. Its unusual character has attracted both serious research attention and skeptical scrutiny, and it remains one of the more discussed cases in Japanese UAP history.