Bo-taoshi (pole toppling) is a capture-the-flag/king-of-the-hill style game played by the National Defense Academy consisting of two teams of 150: one half of each team defends a large pole, the other seeking to pull the pole 30 degrees to the ground.
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Sankei: SDF Continue the Search for the Missing
Sankei: SDF members dress in protective clothing with adult diapers, a mask and rubber gloves - a 'sauna suit'. With the rainy season coming and temperatures rising, the situation is growing more severe in Fukushima - it is time to fight.
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Removing the Stench
Former SDF Member: In the disaster area, the smell of waste cannot be removed from SDF members' clothing. The smell is a strong reminder of the terrible destruction. As it may be a cause of PTSD and other mental health issues, this issue cannot be ignored.
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If they’re not stealing your bicycles, they’re stealing your phones!
A second SDF member arrest has hit the papers, this time with the Sankei reporting on the arrest of a GSDF member in Tokyo: Taking Pictures of his Crotch, SDF Member Arrested – Shibuya, Tokyo A Ground Self-Defense Force military policeman (based in Tokyo), Leading Private YoshihiroKumagai (26), was arrested on suspicion that he...
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SDF Member on Leave Steals Bicycle, Taken Down
While the SDF are doing wonderful work in Tohoku under trying circumstances and with sometimes inadequate equipment, the Yomiuri today reports on one man disgracing himself: Saving lives in the disaster area, stealing bicycles on leave – SDF Member On May 22nd, Sendai North Police Station (Miyagi Prefectural Police) announced that GSDF Camp Iwate Leading...
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Top 10 Posts of the Week @ JSW: Week 20, 2011
This week has seen a rash of translations from yours truly, along with some hard-hitting analysis by Kyle Mizokami. Talking heads are leading the field, but ミリメシ has captured the imaginations of our readers. In this, the first weekly summary of the most active posts in the previous week, we are looking for you, our...
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F-35 May Be Dropped From F-X Program Short List
Kyodo news agency reports that the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter may be dropped from the F-X fighter procurement program. The revised F-35 program schedule, which pushes operational testing flights to 2017 (or beyond) means the F-35 wouldn’t be delivered soon enough. The F-X is meant to replace the 40+ year old F-4 Phantom, which...
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YouTube: Swamped Blackhawks and F-2 Fighters at Matsushima Air Base
Well, embedding seems to have been disabled, but this is still a video worth watching. A TV news crew went to Matsushima Air Base shortly after the disaster and filmed the damaged aircraft up close. High performance jet engines with dried weeds stuck in them, and Blackhawk cockpits that look like the inside of a...
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YouTube: JMSDF Hovercraft in Earthquake Zone
Here’s a clip of a JMSDF LCAC from LST JDS Oosumi transferring cargo from ship to shore in the disaster zone. Video appears to be dated March 19th, eight days after the earthquake.
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Sankei: 6 Fighters from Matsushima Base Can Be Restored
Today (May 19th), the Sankei released an update on the F-2B fighter trainers damaged at Matsushima Air Base during the tsunami. In summary, it’s pretty bad news: of the 18 trainers, only 6 will be recoverable, apparently through salvaging components from all 18 and sourcing new ones from the manufacturer. The article suggests that this...
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WSJ Japan Real-Time: SDF to get extra hazard pay?
Yoree Koh at Japan Real-Time, the Wall Street Journal’s magazine-like answer to Japan coverage, put out a very interesting post last night hinting at great compensation for those SDF members involved in disaster relief efforts in Tohoku: The Defense Ministry is considering whether to increase the daily extra compensation allotted to SDF personnel to as...
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