By SETH ROBSON | STARS AND STRIPES Published: May 11, 2021 French forces are training on Japanese soil for the first time during drills this week that will include beach raids alongside U.S. Marines and Japanese amphibious troops supported by an Australian frigate. The Jeanne D’Arc 21 exercise began Tuesday at Camp Ainoura, home of Japan’s Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade at Sasebo in Nagasaki prefecture, III Marine Expeditionary Force said in a statement Wednesday. The brigade, modeled on U.S. Marines, has about 100 people in the exercise, including infantry, engineers and command and control troops, according to Marine Capt. Thomas Delaney, a firepower control team leader on Kyushu.
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Change often comes so slowly in Japan that it’s easy to overlook. That’s especially true with the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) Japan’s military.
Five years ago, the idea of foreign troops other than Americans training in Japan was thought impossible. It was “unconstitutional,” “politically explosive,” and, for Japanese officials, “too difficult” (preceded by the sound of air sucking through teeth).
Yet, from May 11-17, French Army troops will be training in Kyushu at the Kirishima Training Ground along with the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) and the United States Marines.
The exercise will involve the GSDF’s Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade Japan’s “Marines” and will also include tabletop exercises at Camp Ainoura near Sasebo, the ARDB’s home base. (Ten years ago, the idea of a Japanese amphibious force was considered equally preposterous. It wasn’t, to those who knew better, but that’s another story.)
Japan’s Defense Improves Slowly, Pick Up the Speed
Commentary
Change often comes so slowly in Japan that it’s easy to overlook. That’s especially true with the Japan Self Defense Force (JSDF) Japan’s military.
Five years ago the idea of foreign troops other than the Americans training in Japan was thought impossible. It was: “unconstitutional,” “politically explosive,” and for Japanese officials, “too difficult” (preceded by the sound of air sucking through teeth).
Yet, from May 11 to 17, French Army troops will be training in Kyushu at Kirishima Training Ground along with the Japan Ground Self Defense Force (GSDF) and U.S. Marines.
Japanese Marines Are Ready To Defend Japan s Islands Against China
Concerns that Beijing might seize outlying islands led to the formation of Japan s Amphibious Rapid Response Brigade in 2018.
Here s What You Need to Know: Tokyo is developing a modest capability to respond to incursions on its many vulnerable islands.
Seventy-five years ago, the sight of 300 Japanese marines storming rolling onto a Queensland beach in hulking tracked amphibious vehicles would have heralded a catastrophic setback to Australia’s national security.
But obviously, the world has changed quite a bit since World War II. The soldiers from Japan’s Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade (ARB) were not invaders, but participants in the international 2019 Talisman Sabre exercise held biennially on Australian soil.
World War III: How the Senkaku Islands Could Spark a U.S.-China War
If soldiers from China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) ensconced themselves in the archipelago they would hold a flanking position within striking range of Taiwan and the midsection of Asia’s first island chain.
Here s What You Need to Remember: It will be up to the Self-Defense Forces to tap the islands’ natural defenses, much as wise armed forces fortify major bases to ward off seaborne or airborne assault. Whether the JSDF should act is a political decision to be made in Tokyo in consultation with Washington.