Japanese battle tanks, helicopters and elite troops stormed the foothills of Mount Fuji yesterday in a first-of-its-kind display of the tactics and equipment the nation’s military could use to defend or retake islands in and around the East China Sea.
The maneuvers involving about 60 Japanese military aircraft, including Apache attack helicopters, marked the first time Japan’s Self-Defense Forces (SDF) have simulated a remote island battle as part of an annual live-fire exercise that has become part training drill and part patriotic spectacle.
About 14,000 spectators, who had applied in advance for the limited viewing space, watched as Apache helicopters opened fire on imaginary enemy positions. Chinook and Black Hawk helicopters then swooped in to land elite Japanese troops, who dropped to the group of spectators via ropes.
The exercises also included 80 battle tanks and armored vehicles and about 2,300 SDF troops.
A large video screen mounted to a truck showed a map of the islands near Okinawa that are the subject of a territorial dispute with China, and provided running commentary on the maneuvers.
Under Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the government has taken steps to relax limits imposed on its military by a pacifist constitution that dates back to defeat in World War Two.
In a strategic shift, Japan is building a new amphibious military unit and doubling the number of fighter jets deployed on Okinawa, galvanized by China’s growing military power and claims on the Senkaku Islands, known as the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台列嶼) by Taiwan, which also claims them, and the Diaoyu Archipelago (釣魚群島) by the third claimant, China.
The crowd who gathered in the shadow of Japan’s most famous mountain yesterday voiced support for a strong military.
As a military band played, nearby stands sold souvenirs, including model military planes, camouflage T-shirts and military insignia towels.
The ground shook near spectators from the simulated battle playing out just a few hundred meters away.
“With all the fuss going on with China, Japan should have the equipment it needs,” said Yoshinari Endo, who had traveled with his three-year-old son from Kanagawa Prefecture near Tokyo for the event.
Applicants for the live fire display rose to 28 per available spot this year compared with 20 last year, according to Japanese Ministry of Defense spokesman.
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