Such an incredible episode man on an increasingly concerning topic. At times living in Japan makes you feel a million miles away from many of the issues in the world today, almost like a bubble. Then you remember, the country is right on the doorstep of several potential massive, unthinkable conflicts and this kind of preparation is essential, if merely only as deterrence. Let's hope a sequel: "I Fought with the Japanese Army" is an episode that need not ever materialise. Keep up the great work mate, this was a brilliant piece of journalism.
I watched this with unease rightaway as well. Even though not on the doorstep it feels everpresent at the moment; everyone is on the same street. You wonder if there is something more than just hope which we can do..
"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." "Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!" "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." "War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things: the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth a war, is much worse. A man who has nothing which he is willing to fight for, nothing which he cares about more than he does about his personal safety, is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself." "Better to fight for something than live for nothing." "If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without bloodshed; if you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves." ps. "Alas, the time of the most despicable man is coming, he that is no longer able to despise himself. Behold, I show you the last man. “What is love? What is creation? What is longing? What is a star?” the last man asks, and he blinks...."
"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." "Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!" "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." "War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things: the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth a war, is much worse. A man who has nothing which he is willing to fight for, nothing which he cares about more than he does about his personal safety, is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself." "Better to fight for something than live for nothing." "If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without bloodshed; if you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves."
@@lyndonhanzpernites5860Training as a part of the CIA… while making videos consistently antithetical to what the CIA wants and showing off all the CIA war crimes. Like there are actual CIA misinformation agents pushing inherently right wing aggression into the minds of young men and this is the guy you choose? That literally sounds like something the CIA would make you believe
Woah, kudos for providing both English and Japanese audio It took me a whole minute to realize Johnny Harris didn't suddenly speak fully fluent Japanese
The world is so funny! In World War II, the Japanese invaded China and Asia, killing countless China people and Asians! Two American atomic bombs forced the Japanese emperor to surrender, and Japan became a colony of the United States! After World War II, the United States launched dozens of wars of aggression in decades, and now it is waging war again with puppet countries like Japan. What a group of militants!
@@catsNcodeIt's about the fact that the Chinese are ramping up their military and could threaten the US or their allies, especially Japan and South Korea. You have to think about how the Chinese are so strong, if Japan didn't have those bases, they would be more vulnerable to attack. And for the "bullying" part, the Chinese are attempting to push the south east Asian countries out of the South China sea, so id consider them more of a bully, and those US bases being justified.
@@JumpingRabbit-s6i It can translate text, and sometimes meaning; but cultural references and figures-of-speech. That one might be a little more difficult. American politicians don't even understand our memes most of the time. It's why they don't like them haha.
Mas quando você recebe a notificação de um comentário seu que foi respondido, o RU-vid ainda não permite a tradução desse comentário (e ter esse tipo de opção não deveria ser difícil).
«Provoking a war by militarizing» As a Ukrainian I’m so fucking tired of listening to this shit. Ukraine wasn’t militarizing before russian invasion. Did it help? It is the same thing to say that a girl which is carrying a pocket-knife or pepper spray in the night is the aggressor because she doesn’t want to be raped or robbed. Sometime people will understand that “deescalation” leads only to bigger escalation because neither China, neither Russia, neither North Korea don’t give a shit about conventions, “non-aggression” pacts and other bullshit. What else Japan can do? United Nations won’t do anything as they are useless and we don’t know for sure if USA will take part in the potential conflict. They are 100% right about building up their military, there is nothing to talk about.
Yep he says in the video that Militarizing to defend yourself has caused wars, yet if one were to look at history and look for instances where a country preparing itself for war has stopped one they would find a wealth of examples. It also something that is much harder to prove since it's harder to prove when a war would have started if not for the military of the defending nation. Yet there also plenty of examples where undefended nations have been attacked. Look at the Colonizer wars (like the Opium Wars, Christopher Columbus, Ethiopia vs Italy), the annexation of Poland-Lithuania in the 1700s (then Poland in WW2), Napoleons Invasion of Spain, and most recently Ukraine. It's also a form of victim blaming, as if the aggressive nations wouldn't have attacked if the defending nation hadn't armed themselves. It's so very toxic and serves as propaganda for Russia and China.
I have always wondered why we even have a UN when they useless and worthless 99.9% of the time. Might as well disband it. The only thing that has kept WW3 from occurring is the threat of Nuclear War not some worthless UN.......
Not how geopolitics works my good man. There's more to deterrent than airplanes and guns. There's a reason why Japan wasn't attacked while it didn't have an army. Not only because of US nuclear umbrella, but because there's very little to gain economically, from invading and occupying land nowadays. Yes, if an enemy attacks you, bases or not it doesn't matter. But ask yourself this: Why do you have an enemy in the first place? And why is your enemy attacking you militarily? And why is it attacking your base and not where you have none?
より公正なジャーナリズム! China is an entirely different society under the dictator Xi and authoritarian CCP .. [For honest truths, pls read the informative multi-page comment by 'Mister Lianghui' at, "The Coming War on China/Real Stories" on RU-vid].. Like I said, China is an entirely different society under Xi.
I am very surprised to hear about the ignorance by Japanese citizens of the SDF activities due to Japanese TV not showing them. Is there an ideological thing going on with the owners and editors of Japanese TV? Disapproval, fear?
@@Video2WebbI think it’s a continuation of the propaganda they started after WW2. From a history of battles, warriors and conflicts, present-day Japanese people are the complete opposite - conflict avoidance, seeking peaceful solutions, being non-confrontational - those are all instilled from a young age. That’s also possibly the reason history lessons about WW2 are sanitized. As a result, Japanese people now are some of the most peaceful and non-aggressive people I know. This was done to basically change the country from one ruled by the military to a civilian-driven one like the US. It worked too well, I think. They don’t want to think of even the idea of war. This is why it’s hard to convince regular Japanese people I talk to that arming the JSDF is not inviting war, but preparing for the future - which can be seen as increasingly worrying given China’s recent actions.
Since 1941, Japan has been defending itself against those countries that were invaded by Japan. Nightmare will be coming if Japan wants to claim more territory. Repent , before it is too late!
@@七氏-k8j yeah? The last big conflict didn't really favore countries not focusing on defending. In WW2 it took Allies 4 countries to sacrifice before standing up to Germany just because "if they don't build army there will not be a war" stupid mentality. Nobody wants war, nobody wants to die in stupid war, but if you have country next to you who is increasing his military and claims over you, people will suffer in any way, just in one, you have Chance of detering it without fight if the odds are not in their favour.
Tbh, if someone told you that you'd have to pay for videos on RU-vid 10 years ago, you'd have an even better laugh, but then realize they were only prophesizing.
@@jrdsm to get this level of cinematic documentary you'd have to acquire it by either means of membership to a scholastic function or you'd have to purchase the physical copy to view it.
@@satotot3739 I have to leave my house 2-3 times a year because an unexploded bomb is being defused (Cologne, Germany). I guess the Japanese have a similar situation. They say that all unexploded bombs from the Second World War will be defused by 2080. Are there similar calculations for Japan?
@@xxklesx1 In Japan, the Government has not, I believe, set clear targets. There are media reports that it will take another 70 or 100 years to dispose of unexploded ordnance.
The later portion of this video on the islanders’ perspective was so heavy, but necessary. Thank you Johnny for showing the perspectives of the people and not just making a lighthearted video about training with the military. As a southeast asian whose own grandparents barely survived Japanese occupation during WWII, these histories are not something we should readily forget.
@@SharonLermond Your youtube account looks new so I''m assuming you're new to the internet.... the Japanese does remember the damage they did to their neighbours and they have tried their best to fix the relationships through lots of program, especially to China! you can always search for details online
@@johnnyharris This hat often used by the special forces ! Not a silly hat at all but it was given to you as a form of respect like : "Thank you for coming here to do an important journalistic work on the JSDF, our country, you have came from a very far land to cover the preparations of our defense and for that we will let you use the special forces hat, tier 1 work!."
@@カフェ宇宙-p3o Genuine question, do you think the Saab company submarine would fair well or on par with a Japanese Submarine? I briefly remember the Saab sub beat out an American top of the line submarine in stealth trials. I would like to know your thoughts.
@@tangzhenhe yeah but your governments and military and other people at the top don't think so and that makes all the difference. war it will be someday if it goes this way.
@@SharonLermond also throw in some British, Germany, France, Portuguese, Mongol and Dutch as well. also while at it, put some Roman Empire, Macedonia, Ottoman Empire you know what, if you kept digging the past, you'll lit the fire of War again. the best thing you can do is to Forgive. bolster your defense, be a strong country that can protect the citizen, instead of whinning about it. some of those countries already changed into a more Peaceful country, and given back territories. what else do you want? for them to become a Warmonger country again?
@@SharonLermond you han chinese also forgot what your ancestors did to ancient people in Southern China during Han dynasty conquest against ancient people in Southern China.. which ancient people in Southern China were related to population in Southeast Asia today.. and not to mention about genocide against Tibetan people decades ago.
When WWII ended, it wasn't like turning off a light switch - horror to good neighbors - I was born in the middle of 1951, and throughout my preteens war was a real presence in our lives. My father's confusion at meeting ex soldiers from the " other side " that " seems like a good guy," my older sister's real fear of nuclear attack, hundreds of war movies, the Korean War didn't help, so many things to try to figure out. Seeing a collection of photographs from concentration camps in my early teens was transformative. And war never stops. The human race doesn't deserve this incredible world we are born on. The USA and so many other nations seem willing to let psychopaths have incredible power while the world burns around them. Even chimpanzees in the wild are learning how to make rudimentary weapons and wage war on neighboring groups.
I am a resident of Okinawa. Most Okinawans are not aware of the fact that Okinawa is an important area that is targeted even without the bases. I think this is what complicates the base issue.
With all respect how is this possible after what happened on the island in ww2? Surely the people living there must realise the US didnt invade the island just for shits n giggles right?
@@justarandompally He probably meant that they felt that the base being constructed would make them an even more obvious target than they already are. That is why the lady who was interviewed in the video said, “It’s not good, but it’s necessary,” because even though they are now protected from the threat that they feel quite certain existed before, the base construction made that threat even more certain.
There's also a group in S.Korea that also went thru similar training (albeit a lot longer and varied) it's also on RU-vid under the channel Korean Englishman as 2 two different series (one is with a priest and a UK army Major with spec ops training, another with a group of university age students)
Johnny, thank you for selecting this sensitive topic. As a Japanese raised in US soil and now living in Tokyo, I understand the delicate balance surrounding this issue. I very much enjoy watching your existing videos unrelated to Japan in the first place and thank you aways for your independent, insightful and inspiring videos.
japanese GDP hasn't grown in 35 years. Largely due to u.s interference with monetary policies during the late 80s with the plaza accord. It will just be a matter of time until japan is weakened so much that it will be forced to decouple from u.s politically just to survive. u.s trade policies that come as a cost to the japanese economy will be the end of u.s and japanese relationship. Japan has a history of aligning with the strongest existing power. It aligned with the Russians, netherlands, united kingdom, and then germany and then the u.s. It will be just a matter of time when chinese regional influence grows to the extend that will force japan to choose again
Bruh there's 800 US bases outside the U.S. and most of them surrounds China. But you guys think China is the aggressive one lmao. How much more military bases you guys need?
Exactly! Okinawa did not become a strategic military target because a base was built there, rather a base was built there because it is a strategic military target.
The Self-Defense Forces, the US military, and the People's Liberation Army are all well aware of this. I think the Japanese people should understand this fact, but everyone is too ignorant about military matters. 自衛隊も米軍も人民解放軍もそのことをよく分かってるんですよ。日本国民はこの事実をちゃんと理解しておくべきだと思うのですけども、皆あまりに軍事音痴過ぎて駄目ですね。
yep so true. even in today's interconnected world, reliant global economies and increased cultural exchange and mutual understandings; politicians will always be drunk on power no matter the will of their people. deterrence is key
E X A C T L Y...When will the verbose idealists and utopians learn that strength delivers peace and sometimes one has to exert the strength in order to stop a war happening, or fight it down to the end. Who said that life comes easy in this universe? It's no picnic and one needs to never appease anyone like Iran, Russia, China. Easier said than done I know 🙄😒
@@Video2Webb I'm not overly idealistic enough to believe that military force isn't a proven way to enforce peace. There's definitely a place for it. But I also think you can't rely heavily on might to make right, because then you end up in situations like the United States' where - due to their immense military - they tend to put forward the stick 90% of the time that a carrot would work better instead. Both aspects of diplomacy need to be used depending on the situation, but when you heavily invest in your military you typically try and show that it was worth all the billions you spent on it. And when things actually come to blows, governments need to remember that the winning force can't just leave as soon as things are over - the military has to be remembered as, by far the best, forms of destruction _and_ reconstruction. Without the latter, the former has no meaning other than wanton carnage.
@@ojisankusai I think if you look modern history, the US overwhelmingly uses diplomacy and other soft methods to achieve its goals rather than military force. The big exception is Iraq 2003, and there were certainly ulterior motives behind that.
Hey I’ve wanted to travel to Japan for a really long time and I’ve wanted to leave my country and find somewhere else is Japan / Okinawa a good place to move to?
japanese GDP hasn't grown in 35 years. Largely due to u.s interference with monetary policies during the late 80s with the plaza accord. It will just be a matter of time until japan is weakened so much that it will be forced to decouple from u.s politically just to survive. u.s trade policies that come as a cost to the japanese economy will be the end of u.s and japanese relationship. Japan has a history of aligning with the strongest existing power. It aligned with the Russians, netherlands, united kingdom, and then germany and then the u.s. It will be just a matter of time when chinese regional influence grows to the extend that will force japan to choose again
"Even though we don't understand a word of each other's language, I don't know what I'd do without him." This is the essence of military training. It's why joint activities, between branches or between nations, are so important.
Hi! Long time subscriber here. I never usually comment but I really liked the story you documented ! I never got to go to Okinawa , so i was really excited for this video. I had lived in Japan for 2 years but unfortunately i had to move back to the US because i missed my family, and it was really difficult living as a foreigner in Japan. I watched grave of the fireflies and it was such a sad movie and made me really grateful how im living in a time of peace and technological innovation.I hope Japan will never have to go through another war. Thanks again for the awesome video uploads as always!!
Wow the part with Takamatsu-San was really sad but also really wonderful that he can help give families some sense of closure. What a wonderful person.
The words of Mr. Takamatsu that were directed to the victims of the Battle of Okinawa were incredibly heavy. They were so full of emotion that I cried. I am so very glad to have had the privilege of hearing them and about those people.
Japan is amazing and I'm glad that the US and Japan are such close allies. We were at war with each other not long ago, and now we will fight for each other. 🇺🇲🇯🇵
19:22 I can't get enough of that soldier in the back smiling. Every time I watch videos of joint training operations like this, everybody always seems to be in the highest spirits.
Damn, extremely cool that you even secured permission to make this video in the first place. Awesome look into the inner world of a thing most of us never consider
yeah because the US was kind to them post-occupation; they didn't mistreat the locals like a colonial would, they built back japan even stronger with shared partnership.
Did you see anything particular secretive shown in this video? One of the officers interviewed came from the JSDF PR office. The content shown is only what they’re willing to show, and I’ve no doubt that similar training videos can be found elsewhere publicly
@@AndorranStairway I've worked with the JSDF before and they really keep to themselves. I'm just surprised that they would do this regardless of what the content is.
The quality of those docs Harris and team have been making, is off the charts! This and the former video has explained this for me, as somebody that did not know that much about the Japanese war in WW2 and the current conflict. I shed a tear at the end of this video when he talked to the inhabitants of Okinawa.
Im american military stationed in okinawa. Glad to see you here! I was at that japanese base last month training alongside the japanese CE and they definitely have a lot of resembelences to how we act, but finding out they wear sandals indoors in uniform at their shop was mind blowing😂 as always appreciate your stuff man! Ariagato Gozaimasu!
I'm sure you have good intentions, but... why would you give your life to the american death machine that is the military? 😶 Dying for a country that will throw you away once you're not useful to them anymore. The same country that is taxing the hell out of its citizens. The same country that has been in wars for most of its existence. The same country that is ever growing into a tyrannical totalitarian beast. Do you not reflect on that? Do you not feel bad at night?
I have to give it to you, Jonny, the music was absolutely spectacular in the particular video. I feel that the arrangements for each section did a great job of helping to tell your story while blending seamlessly from section to section. It felt as if the music was guiding each story.
Comparing the JSDF and Taliban is like comparing... well the calm mannered and respected Japanese to religious zealot barbarians who belong in the the 17th century but yea good joke I guess lol.
@@ronaldmcboggled9855 It's the same sir, The culture of suicidal attacks to destroy the opponents and defend your country is one of Japanese culture.. I mean, you forgot kamikaze? A lot of islamic resistance got their inspiration from Japanese on WWI and WWII:]..
@@Zantigableiaust I talking about modern culture but I will engage. Who won the samurai wars? the western more modern army? what did the kamikaze attacks achieve? prolonged defeat of of the "Japanese empire". To me it only resulted in young men giving there lives for a outdated ideology that only zealots. believed. So if you think lives are disposable for your ideology then I hope you never get to govern but I am open to counter opinions.
@@Rodrigo96985 In our country, there is an unspoken rule that we must not make fun of the atomic bomb, even as a joke. In fact, a lawmaker who spoke out about Japan's possession of an atomic bomb was forced to resign and is now feeling angry. P.S. All of my great-grandfather's relatives died within a second, and my great-grandfather died at the age of 27 from the aftereffects of the atomic bomb.Currently, the number of people who died from the atomic bomb is over 500,000.
It's not a tank. It's a LAV variant (Light Armoured Vehicle). It's classified between IFV (infantry fighting vehicle, medium gun & armor) and APC (Armoured personnel carrier, light gun & armor). Tank is MBT (main battle tank, big gun and heavy armor)
to a journalist, if it has a big gun it's a tank. No matter if it carries troops or is artillery. At least he learned about the LCAC, those cool ass beasts don't get talked about enough as they should.
these interviews show just how much awareness the people there have. they have such incredible insights and are fantastically well-spoken. glad you took the time to record their thoughts!
When Mr Takamatsu prayed over the bones and asked them to let him show the world… man I broke. He speaks so gently with the people who gave their lives for their island.. thank you sir for bringing them home and giving them their due respect ❤
@@chriskief7156 so he’s cia but has done countless videos critiquing them, and rarely the FSB or other bad actors from China and Russia? Has made countless video on America but briefly touches on those other two, but when he does make a video talking about China, he’s considered cia by what I’m almost certain are countless bots. Ya ight 🙄
This is such a professional mini documentary. For the sake of balancing it, as you always do, are you planning to make something similar with the Chinese military?
As a Japanese, I appreciate your work. There is a lack of proper knowledge of threats in Japan, with many reports critical of the SDF's deterrence efforts due to past history. Of course, the past must not be forgotten, but it is also the responsibility of the nation to protect the current population. As a Japanese citizen, I sincerely hope that the Self-Defense Forces will finish its role as a "sword without drawing" (that can easily change depending on the decisions of the "continent"...). Personally, I am amazed at the Japanese Ministry of Defense for allowing RU-vidrs to interview them... It very much shows the changing times. The video was an example of good journalism. Thank you.
During World War II, more than 50 million Chinese people died directly or indirectly as a result of Japan's foreign aggression, and more than 3 million Chinese cultural relics were looted by Japan and have not yet been returned by Japan. Do you think Japan is threatened? For other countries, Japan is not a threat. In the final analysis, it is a matter of strength.
You haven't talked about rape cases involving US army personnel stationed in Japan. As of the latest reports, there were more than 127 cases involving U.S. military personnel in Japan, particularly in Okinawa, over the past few years. For example, between 2017 and 2019, the NCIS investigated at least eight sexual offenses that weren't initially reported to Congress (Veteran Benefits & Jobs). Just recently an 12 yo were sexually assaulted by American soldiers
You're right that's a very important story. Not within the scope of this story about the geopolitics of the pacific. But if you want a deep dive on all the effects of US military bases check out this book written by my grad school prof. www.basenation.us/
@@johnnyharris Isn't it funny how the soft power of USA and its NATO allies influences the entire world? The media houses like bbc, DA, VOA, and private media like cnn fox etc of that country, and its allies, will never talk about anything wrong done by their military. But the same media and influencers will never stop reporting on something wrong done by countries like russia china saudi arabia india etc. developing nation. I know a few third-world countries get humiliated by the same media and are presented as the worst places on earth. But in reality, those countries aren't as unsafe or terrible as Western media makes them out to be. Anyway, if you wanted, you could have made fully dedicated videos on topics like this, but you chose not to. You would have done it if the military of countries russia or china were involved. now waiting for your views on BRICS
@@tracym8952 Thanks for the info, ill look it up. However, it seems you misunderstood me, by no ways was I assuming that these men are not capable😅In fact I believe they will be the first ones willing to give up their lives if it was necessary
@@LefrancaishonhonhoThe anime/manga also excels in realism. If a modern military, like Japan’s, were to encounter a magical medieval world, this is most likely how things would play out.
@@imsomewhatcertain1024 not the US military tho… they'd get spec ops'd first like in Afghanistan, then bombed to kingdom come… not the methodical progression in GATE... They all about the overwhelming force, don't they?
propaganda much? seems they had to send him away after talking too much CIA history. funny how the bad guys are now good because they are now armed by the imperial superpower, weird things huh?
Not really, most civilians in Okinawa actually _don’t_ like US bases on their soil. The s_xual assault is rampant from US soldiers, and is a serious issue that seemed to be quite underplayed here. Schools teach children to run away from US military members if they feel even remotely threatened, as new cases pop up weekly of r_pes carried out by US personnel. It’s a huge (and unfortunately overlooked) issue.