Japan's Defense Ministry has found that a video posted on social media that claims to have been shot by a drone over a Japanese destroyer is likely authentic.

The footage, lasting about 20 seconds, was put online in late March. It claims to have been taken by a drone flying over the Izumo destroyer, which belongs to a Maritime Self-Defense Force base near Tokyo.

The drone appears to have approached the vessel from rear and flown over the deck. The film carries the name of Chinese video-sharing site bilibili.

Flying drones over SDF bases without authorization is prohibited by law.

The Defense Ministry had been analyzing the video to determine if it was faked or edited.

Ministry sources say the analysis found that it is highly likely that the footage is authentic.

The ministry reportedly plans to further examine the video to find out how it was filmed.