By Isabel Reynolds
OYAMA, Japan (Reuters) – They swapped their floral blouses
for camouflage gear, their running shoes for heavy black boots
and the comforts of home for narrow bunk beds and an early
morning bugle call.
Thirty-two young women got a taste of life in the Japanese
military last week as they took part in the “Miss Parsley”
tour, a public relations event aimed at women in their 20s, who
the polls show to be least interested in defense issues.
“Does it suit me? Does it suit me? I kind of like it,”
giggled Yoko Ito, a 25-year-old Osaka office worker, as she
tried on a sniper’s camouflage suit, complete with leafy
headdress, and brandished a replica gun.
Like others on the two-day stay at the Fuji School, an
officer training center in the scenic foothills of Japan’s most
famous mountain, Ito admitted her knowledge of the armed forces
was hazy.
“I just vaguely wondered what they did,” she said. “At the
time of the Kobe earthquake (in 1995) a lot of houses in my
area fell down, so I saw them on rescue missions. Japan is so
peaceful.”
Japan’s armed forces, known officially as the Self-Defense
Force, exist in legal limbo under a U.S.-drafted pacifist
constitution which bans the maintenance of a military but has
been interpreted as allowing a force for self-defense, and
which renounces the country’s right to go to war.
Due to the tight restrictions on its activities, many
Japanese see the military as glorified firefighters rather than
a highly trained and well-equipped force of 235,000, boasting
an annual budget of 4.8 trillion yen ($43 billion).
“People have an image of the Self-Defense Force as only
involved in disaster relief,” said Lt.-Col. Masaru Kawai, one
of the organizers of the tour.
“But it is our duty to defend the country, so we want them
to see the facilities we have at Fuji School and what they can
do.”
TANKS AND AZALEAS
The women certainly seemed impressed, gasping as elite
Ranger troops abseiled from a 15-yard tower and slid belly-down
along a rope slung between two trees, on a trip that veered
between coddling and military harshness.
“Take care not to fall out, little ones,” a uniformed group
leader called as she helped two visitors clamber into a Type 90
tank for a high-speed ride around a muddy exercise ground.
“Does anyone need the toilet? Just let us know if you don’t
feel well,” other troops chorused.
But amid the hilarity and frequent photo sessions against a
backdrop of pink and white azalea blooms were tastes of real
military life.
The “recruits” tried rock-climbing and rope-crawling,
marched in strict formation and were made to do push-ups when
they failed to obey orders.
The annual event has been held for more than a decade, but
the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s plans to change the
constitution to clarify the legal position of the armed forces
— and a decision to send a small number of troops to Iraq —
have made defense a political issue in a country often
described as “dazed by peace.”
Tour participants were divided on the need for change.
“Everyone sees Japan as very peaceful at the moment, so
they want to keep the constitution as it is,” said Rie Hosoda,
a 28-year-old systems engineer.
“But if we are attacked, we won’t be in a position to keep
it. It’s not that I want to change it right now, but I think
it’s only natural that it should change along with the
situation.”
SCARY REALITY
Others said they hoped Japan’s military would continue to
devote itself to disaster relief.
“I only really knew about their humanitarian activities,”
said Natsue Yawata, a 23-year-old medical student.
“But talking to everyone here, I realize they are more
focused on defending the country. It’s a bit scary. I don’t
want the world to become the kind of place where the military
has to be more active.”
Named after a cartoon character the defense agency uses to
represent the female contingent of the armed forces, the “Miss
Parsley” tour is not directly intended to boost recruitment,
but several visitors said they were keen to join up.
Women have been recruited as nurses since the military was
reestablished in 1954, and almost all branches of the armed
forces were opened to women in 1993.
The number of female troops has ballooned from 57 in 1955
to nearly 11,000 last year, but only about one in every 100
female applicants for officer-level entry makes the grade.
Another possible side effect of the tour emerged as the
visitors waved a tearful goodbye to their military mentors and
left by bus for the station.
“We want you to become fans of the armed forces,” one tour
supervisor told the women. “Bear in mind that military men make
excellent husbands — they all know how to cook and clean.”
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