THINK ABOUTIT UFO|UAP ENCOUNTER REPORT

1958: Kaizuka, Japan UFO Photo | Daylight Disc Case Archive

This is one of the thinnest entries in the archive: a single daytime photograph, taken over Kaizuka, in Osaka Prefecture, Japan, sometime in 1958, showing a disc-shaped object. The image is attributed to a collection associated with British UFO researcher Jenny Randles, a genuine, credentialed figure — former Director of Investigations for the British UFO Research Association — and the photograph itself is independently catalogued elsewhere as a real, previously circulated image, not something invented for this page. Beyond that, almost nothing survives: no witness name, no account of how or when the photo was noticed, no description of the object beyond its disc shape.

One correction is worth making plainly: the case was classified CE-II, a category reserved for close encounters that leave physical, electrical, or medical effects. Nothing of that kind is described anywhere in the material available for this case — no trace, no burn, no heat, no effect on anyone. Absent that evidence, this is a Daylight Disc case, not a Close Encounter, and this entry reclassifies it accordingly.

Date: 1958 (exact date not given in source)

Sighting Time: Undocumented

Day/Night: Day

Location: Kaizuka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan

Urban or Rural: Rural

Hynek Classification: DD (Daylight Disc) — corrected from CE-II. No physical trace, burn, medical, or electrical/heat effect is described or documented anywhere in the material available for this case; the only surviving content is a daytime photograph of a disc-shaped object. See Researcher’s Notes.

Duration: Not applicable — this entry consists of a single photograph, with no described live observation or duration

No. of Object(s): 1

Description of the Object(s): A disc-shaped object, photographed in daylight over Kaizuka; no further description survives in the material available

Shape of Object(s): Disc

Size of Object(s): Undocumented

Color of Object(s): Undocumented

Distance to Object(s): Undocumented

Number of Witnesses: Undocumented — no witness name, count, or narrative survives in the material available

Special Features/Characteristics: This entry is built almost entirely around a single photograph, with no accompanying witness narrative, discovery story, or description of circumstances surviving in the material available to this archive; the photograph is independently catalogued as a real, previously circulated image in general UFO photography compilations, distinguishing it from entirely undocumented cases, though nothing beyond its bare existence and general dating is currently known

Case Status: Insufficient Data

Source: Jenny Randles (British UFO researcher, former Director of Investigations, British UFO Research Association); the photograph is also independently catalogued in general UFO-photograph compilations

Summary/Description: A daytime photograph, taken over Kaizuka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan, in 1958, shows a disc-shaped object. The image is attributed to a collection associated with British UFO researcher Jenny Randles and is independently catalogued elsewhere as a genuine historical UFO photograph. No witness account, narrative, or description of the circumstances behind the photograph survives in the material available to this archive.

Related Cases: Undocumented — source does not reference other cases

Detailed Report

There is very little to report here beyond the photograph itself. Sometime in 1958, a daytime photograph was taken over Kaizuka, a city in Osaka Prefecture, Japan, showing a disc-shaped object in the sky. The image has circulated in UFO photograph collections attributed to Jenny Randles, a genuine and long-established British UFO researcher — former Director of Investigations for the British UFO Research Association, a columnist for Fortean Times, and the author of numerous books on UFOs and related subjects. The photograph is also independently listed in general compilations of historical UFO images as one of several Japanese UFO photographs from this period, confirming that it is a real, previously circulated image rather than something invented for this entry.

Beyond this, nothing else survives in the material available: no witness name, no account of who took the photograph or under what circumstances, no description of whether the object was noticed at the time or only discovered later, and no detail about its size, distance, or exact location within Kaizuka. The case exists, for present purposes, as an image and a date.

RESEARCHER’S NOTES

The Kaizuka Photograph — Japan 1958 and a Classification With No Supporting Evidence

Classification Correction: CE-II specifically requires documented physical, medical, or electrical/heat effects associated with the encounter. Nothing of this kind is described anywhere in the material available for this case — no trace, no burn, no effect on any witness, not even a description of a witness at all. With only a daytime photograph of a disc to go on, this entry reclassifies the case as DD (Daylight Disc).
Source Verification: Jenny Randles is a genuine, well-established British UFO researcher and author, former Director of Investigations for the British UFO Research Association (BUFORA) and a longtime Fortean Times columnist. The photograph attributed to her collection is also independently catalogued in general historical UFO photograph compilations, confirming the image itself is real and previously documented, not fabricated for this entry.
Extreme Thinness: Beyond the photograph’s existence, general location, and year, no further detail survives — no witness, no narrative of discovery, no description of the object beyond its disc shape. This is among the least-documented entries in this archive, and the structured fields above reflect that honestly rather than filling gaps with invented detail.
Case Status Rationale: Filed as Insufficient Data given the near-total absence of narrative detail, witness information, or documented circumstances beyond the photograph itself.

There isn’t much of a story to tell here — just a real photograph, a real researcher’s name attached to it, and a year. That’s enough to say the image itself isn’t invented, but not nearly enough to support the physical-effects classification it had been given. Reclassified as a Daylight Disc and filed as Insufficient Data, this entry is exactly as complete as the surviving record allows.