Members of the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces participated in a ceremony to open maneuvers with the United States. The mission of the Japanese is changing. (Junji Kurokawa/The Associated Press)From The International Herald Tribune:
CAMP MAKOMANAI, Japan: Col. Kenji Sawai, commander of the 18th Infantry Regiment, stands in his headquarters dressed from head to foot in white camouflage. Skis clutter the hallways of his outpost in the snow-covered mountains of northern Japan, along with stacks of white ponchos, gloves and boots.
For decades, the mission for Japanese officers like Colonel Sawai has been fairly straightforward: defend the homeland. Narrowly defined, for Colonel Sawai and his infantrymen, that means protecting Hokkaido, the island where the regiment is based, from invasion. Now that definition is changing.
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My Comment: The Japanese are still trapped by their history.