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VIDEO: I trained with the Japanese Army
🕑 Added 2024-06-28 12:02:01 +0000 UTCFrom the Field Producer:
We gave you a sneak preview of this story in March’s BTS Patreon vlog - and we’re so excited to share the full video with you now.
This story was a long time in the making, starting early 2023 with outreach to fixers in Japan, building relationships with the Ministry of Defense and SDF, and pushing for access within the military and with the locals. The result you’ll see here is a story of rising military tensions in the Pacific - a story that brought us around Japan’s southern island chain, from Okinawa to Amami Ōshima and back. Johnny trained with the SDF, we got an inside look at both historical and new SDF bases, and covered the joint US-Japan military exercise “Iron Fist.”
We also had the chance to see the stunning natural beauty of these islands, and hear from locals about their home, the importance of preserving it, and their concerns over the increasing military presence.
What you won’t see: sunburns, copious amounts of green tea, incredible food, long drives, lots of connecting flights to reach the smaller islands, off-grid huts in a Mangrove forest, and so so SO many konbini meals (I swear we were all part-onigiri by the end of it). It was an intense week-long trip, and we’re so grateful for the opportunity to share that with you now.
As a little bonus, I’m also sharing some behind-the-scenes photos from the field for you all.
Thanks as always for supporting our work, and we hope you enjoy the video.
~ Teryn
Comments
Sazid Rahman
Following the attacks on the students leaving 130+ dead (confirmed so far), the Bangladesh Government have completely shut down it’s internet cutting it off from the world for last 30+ hours. It is anticipated that a massacre of much bigger scale can take place within the next two days. We need attention here in Bangladesh, people are absolutely hopeless here. Please speak for the people of Bangladesh as soon as possible. The dictator Sheikh Hasina won’t stop. They are enacting a sham pretending that they have made peace with protesters. However, the so-called students that supposedly met with the govt representatives for discussion was actually from the student wing of the rulling party itself. The govt has become ruthless and behaving like a tyrant. Save us, Please! #AlleyesonBangladesh #StepDownSheikhHasina #SaveBangladeshiStudents #BangladeshBleeding
@DaveRizz
Looks like quite the adventure! And I'm sure that final fight test was fully exhausting. 😓 Also, really liked the music score and the gentle touches throughout. Even just the tone of the VO. Def less menacing than some of the previous, while still being very informative. 👍🫡
