The government said Dec. 18 it has "not confirmed the existence" of unidentified flying objects from outer space.

The statement was made in an official response, adopted at a Cabinet meeting Dec. 18, to a question submitted by Ryuji Yamane, a Democratic Party of Japan member of the Upper House.

Yamane said in the question, "It is an urgent task to conduct confirmation work, given incessant reports of UFO sightings as well as national concerns and interests."

In a written reply, the government said it "is not aware of cases where an unidentified flying object, believed to have flown from outside the Earth, was discovered, although there have been cases where birds and other objects beside aircraft were discovered."