A tiny rural community known for numerous UFO sightings is promoting itself as a "home to aliens" in a bid to revitalize its local economy and put itself on the intergalactic map.

By displaying its many pieces of UFO paraphernalia and holding events that appeal to enthusiasts, Iinomachi, in Fukushima Prefecture, once prosperous through silk production and weaving industries, hopes to build a new future by drawing visitors with a passion for the extraterrestrial.

Residents believe they live in a UFO hot spot and speak of repeated appearances of unknown luminous flying objects over the past four decades near the conical 462-meter-high Senganmori mountain.