"Drones" over Japanese nuclear plant ....or planes ?

[ThomasH]

Article:

----
Oct. 10 06:00 am JST

TOKYO

Three bright objects observed flying over a nuclear power complex in southwestern Japan in July circled through the premises and approached reactors undergoing decommissioning, according to a flight-tracking map recently obtained by Kyodo News.

[...]
Isao Itabashi, a chief at the Council for Public Policy and an expert in crisis management, said that with no evidence or photos, "The problem is that we still do not know what actually happened."
According to the map, the three lights were spotted around 9 p.m. on July 26 at the nuclear complex's main gate security office.
They flew clockwise in an elliptical pattern for about 1 kilometer, moving from northeast to southwest, and even entered the premises, passing approximately 50 meters southeast of the Nos. 1 and 2 reactors.
At 9:56 p.m., Kyushu Electric reported the incident to the nuclear authority, considering it a possible intrusion or attack on the plant.
Based on information it received, the watchdog initially issued an emergency notice stating that "three drones are in flight," but later corrected it to "three lights."

[....]

Source: https://japantoday.com/category/national/unknown-bright-objects-approached-reactors-at-japan-nuclear-plant-in-july

I found some planes on Flight Radar, could it be
https://www.metabunk.org/sitrec/?custom=https://sitrec.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/17922/Japan nuclear plant/20251011_054731.js

I made a little video for the public too

Source: https://youtu.be/NIYex4w_k4g

 

[JMartJr]

The part that struck me as most interesting in the source you provided was:

Hideyuki Fukuda, head of the Saga prefectural police, said in September that while the possibility that the lights were drones could not be completely ruled out, interviews with relevant individuals and reviews of nearby security camera footage suggested they were "highly likely" to have come from aircraft.

So the story should be headlined: "Looks like some planes were flying around over Japan in July" just based on what THEY were reporting without even putting in the effort you did to find the planes! If they just HAD to work in drones somehow (possibly to piggyback on the interest in drone flaps elsewhere???) they could always do a subheadline like: "Since we didn't make any effort to find out if it was planes, it still MIGHT be drones, maybe. Please click our story!!!"

 

[ThomasH]

The part that struck me as most interesting in the source you provided was:

Hideyuki Fukuda, head of the Saga prefectural police, said in September that while the possibility that the lights were drones could not be completely ruled out, interviews with relevant individuals and reviews of nearby security camera footage suggested they were "highly likely" to have come from aircraft.

So the story should be headlined: "Looks like some planes were flying around over Japan in July" just based on what THEY were reporting without even putting in the effort you did to find the planes! If they just HAD to work in drones somehow (possibly to piggyback on the interest in drone flaps elsewhere???) they could always do a subheadline like: "Since we didn't make any effort to find out if it was planes, it still MIGHT be drones, maybe. Please click our story!!!"

Yeah strange story, but it's the same story everywhere, no drones only planes. To be honest I don't even remember how a real drone looks like at night, since all videos has been planes

 

[jdog]

Yeah strange story, but it's the same story everywhere, no drones only planes. To be honest I don't even remember how a real drone looks like at night, since all videos has been planes

That inspired me to google the question and found this recent blog post from uavcoach.com that mentions the 2024 New Jersey drone flap: Drones at Night: How to Spot a Drone at Night, Drone Lights & More

Quick Checklist: How to Spot a Drone at Night

• Look for tightly clustered lights with a bright white strobe pulsing at intervals.
• Check colors and spacing: red on left, green on right, white orientation light; all packed close to the airframe.
• Listen for a high-pitched electric whir that fades within a few hundred feet.
• Watch movement: precise hovering, short accelerations, quick yaw turns, stepwise climbs.
• Observe for 30–60 seconds; patterns reveal themselves quickly.
• Record brief video on your phone to review lights, motion, and timing.
• Compare against look-alikes: airplanes move smoothly with wide light spacing; stars twinkle but stay put; satellites glide silently in straight lines.
• If near public safety activity, expect deliberate loitering or orbits and occasional spotlight use.
• Use apps as hints only; confirm with lights, sound, and motion.
• If you're unsure how to spot a drone at night, stand still, reduce background noise, and re-observe from a darker vantage.

If you're still uncertain, wait a minute and recheck direction, altitude, and sound.

I figured the relatively small LEDs on most consumer drones wouldn't be visible at distance, but in the United States the FAA requires safety lighting be visible from at least three miles away: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/chapter-I/subchapter-F/part-107#se14.2.107_129