Page 2 - Robertd Eldridge News Today

Japan’s security, and hence its future, is directly related to Taiwan’s security and future existence. A vote for Taiwan is a vote for Japan.

Today, it is almost a given that the SDF will be called upon to assist local communities and prefectures after a disaster. But, 70 years ago, it was basically forbidden.

Simply put, this aircraft saves lives, like the dramatic rescue of an F-16 pilot who went down 700 miles off the Japanese coast in cold January weather with 3 meter waves.

Clearly, circumstances are different today compared to 1971. So the outdated Yara memo preventing Okinawa's Shimoji Airport from being used for military purposes needs to be reconsidered.

Apr 21, 2021 At the end of March, I completed my fourth business trip to Okinawa during the 2020 fiscal year. Overall, it was my 130th trip to Okinawa, not including those made during the eight years I lived there. The 2020 fiscal year essentially overlapped with the same period in which COVID-19 began to have a real economic impact on the country, particularly in the travel industry. That industry includes hotels, airlines, cruise ships, tour guides, restaurants, stores, museums and c...

Mar 8, 2021 The Great East Japan Earthquake was like yesterday for me. I was privileged at the time ten years ago to have been a part of the U.S. military response to the disaster known as Operation Tomodachi. I have also been lucky enough to continue to be involved with the affected area ever since, recently completing my 15th trip there. These trips have been to both assist in the recovery process ( fukkō) as well as to help prevent the fading away ( fūka) of the lessons learned in...

Feb 8, 2021 Have you ever met a group of people, either in an informal gathering or at a more official function, and greatly enjoyed the interaction with them so much you wanted to meet up again and spend more time with them? That’s the feeling I had when I participated as an observer in the Fourth U.S.-Japan Subnational Global Young Professionals Forum organized by the Koyamada International Foundation (KIF) Japan, KIF America, the Junior Chamber International (JCI) Japan and its su...

Jan 27, 2021 January 1951 was a busy time for Japan, or more specifically, a busy time for the office of the Supreme Commander of Allied Forces Gen. Douglas MacArthur. General headquarters or GHQ, as it was commonly called, was getting ready to host the influential American diplomat John Foster Dulles, who was preparing the draft for the future Allied Treaty of Peace with Japan on behalf of the U.S. government, for his second trip to Japan. But another important visitor had come just b...

Dec 17, 2020 Earlier this fall, the Yaeyama Defense Association (YDA) petitioned the central government to request the Maritime Self-Defense Force establish a presence in the southernmost part of the Nansei Islands. The YDA is an active and influential group of 140 business and political leaders in Ishigaki and nearby islands formed in the 1970s following Okinawa Prefecture’s reversion to Japan. It includes former personnel from the SDF and has played a key role in facilitating the e...