johnnyharris

VIDEO: I trained with the Japanese Army (Patreon)

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2024-06-28 12:02:01

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2026-06

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From 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

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I trained with the Japanese Army

The Real Reason Japan is Preparing for War Exclusive! Grab the NordVPN deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/johnnyharris and get 4 extra months. Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! Join me as I travel to Japan and train as a soldier with the Japanese Special Defense Forces, exploring Japan’s long and complicated relationship with its military - and learn why it is ramping up its military capabilities right now. Special thanks to: Makiko Segawa, Jean Marc Tagaki, Eriko Minayoshi, Norihiko Yamakita, Hisami Take, FeelAMAMI (https://feelamami.com), Association for the Conservation of Forests Rivers and Coastal Ecosystems (Amami World Heritage), Gushiken Takamatsu, Japan Ministry of Defense, Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) 15th. Brigade, Chris Willson / www.TRAVEL67.com, Koichi Fujita, Aiko Fujita, and everyone who shared their thoughts with us on the ground in Japan. Check out all my sources for this video here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NHcN2W3CoTQUvXeUCPcM5_yj-XF348ryxufbMOqK2FM/edit?usp=sharing Check out my new channel with Sam Ellis - Search Party: https://youtube.com/@Search-Party Get access to behind-the-scenes vlogs, my scripts, and extended interviews over at https://www.patreon.com/johnnyharris Do you have an insider tip or unique information on a story? Do you have a suggestion for a story you want us to cover? Submit to the Tip Line: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdpNs1ykIwd7KNkwntN897X_SX9hJ8WiTH_erlLU_bQp2GGLg/viewform?usp=sharing I made a poster about maps - check it out: https://store.dftba.com/products/all-maps-are-wrong-poster Custom Presets & LUTs [what we use]: https://store.dftba.com/products/johnny-iz-luts-and-presets The music for this video, created by our in house composer Tom Fox, is available on our music channel, The Music Room! Follow the link to hear this soundtrack and many more: https://youtu.be/1zN_YsKzAK0 Watch my videos ad-free on Nebula: https://nebula.tv/johnnyharris -- VIDEO CHAPTERS -- 00:00 Intro 01:07 Johnny Trains with the SDF 04:41 Japan’s Military History 05:30 Increasing Threats 08:07 Preparing to Fight Back 14:29 Gun Training and Bomb Diffusion 18:18 Final Test Fight 21:36 The Bones of the Past 25:32 The Effects on the Land & People 29:52 Conclusion 31:22 Credits About: Johnny Harris is an Emmy-winning independent journalist and contributor to the New York Times. Based in Washington, DC, Harris reports on interesting trends and stories domestically and around the globe, publishing to his audience of over 3.5 million on Youtube. Harris produced and hosted the twice Emmy-nominated series Borders for Vox Media. His visual style blends motion graphics with cinematic videography to create content that explains complex issues in relatable ways. - press - NYTimes: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/09/opinion/democrats-blue-states-legislation.html NYTimes: https://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000007358968/covid-pandemic-us-response.html Vox Borders: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLrFyjGZ9NU NPR Planet Money: https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1072164745 - where to find me - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnny.harris/ Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@johnny.harris Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JohnnyHarrisVox Iz's (my wife’s) channel: https://www.youtube.com/iz-harris - how i make my videos - Tom Fox makes my music, work with him here: https://tfbeats.com/ I make maps using this AE Plugin: https://aescripts.com/geolayers/?aff=77 All the gear I use: https://www.izharris.com/gear-guide - my courses - Learn a language: https://brighttrip.com/course/language/ Visual storytelling: https://www.brighttrip.com/courses/visual-storytelling