this army sergeant is fluent in japanese language andrt culture. how important is this as a form of communication? >> very effective. it's everywhere. you see it on the train all of the time, cartoons, and cartoons go from children to adult. >> reporter: it caughtte the attention of thishi man and his son who stopped to mingle with the army. it's really surprising, he says, i kind of thought, what are they doing? he'll now take the time to learn about the two-nation alliance. getting a message through a medium this country understandsa kyung lah, cnn, japan. the safet debate over natural gas drilling will play out just two hours from now in a packedor auditorium in upstate w york. thousands of people expected at