Embassy of Japan in the UK

Feature

Japanese Training Squadron visits Portsmouth
by Captain Keizo Kitagawa, Defence Attaché, Embassy of Japan

The Japanese Training Squadron 2013, consisting of the vessels JS Kashima, JS Shirayuki, JS Isoyuki with around 800 personnel, visited Portsmouth from 22 to 25 July. It was the first such visit since 2008 (the 10th visit to the UK since World War II).

The JTS visited the UK on a very special occasion as this year marks the 400th anniversary of the start of bilateral trade relations way back in 1613. It is also the 150th anniversary of the arrival in the UK of the Choshu Five, five daring young men from Choshu (the present-day Yamaguchi prefecture) who sailed from Japan in 1863 at great personal risk, as overseas travel was prohibited at the time. They studied the UK’s advanced technology to help with Japan’s modernization. The most famous among them was Hirobumi Ito, who later became the first prime minister of Japan. Coincidentally, Ambassador Hayashi and I are both from Yamaguchi.

Japanese Training Squadron in Portsmouth

The JTS has two missions - to provide training for the newly-commissioned junior officers and to foster a friendly relationship with the countries they are visiting. They left Tokyo on 22 May and will return on 30 October after visiting 18 countries and 19 ports. Their itinerary varies from year to year. They arrived at Portsmouth, their first port in Europe, having crossed the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

During their stay, the newly-commissioned junior officers toured the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, where HMS Victory is based, visited training sites such as HMS Collingwood and HMS Sultan and met cadets from the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth. Of course, these young officers had the chance to see London, too.

Captain Kitagawa, Japanese Defence Attaché	The Training Squadron conducted various events while in port, such as a ship “open day” for the public. The navy band played next to the HMS Victory and hosted a reception for guests from the Royal Navy, local dignitaries and Defence or Naval Attachés assigned to London. (Read Ambassador Hayashi's speech from the reception here.) To support and coordinate this visit was my first major challenge as the new Japanese Defence Attaché. As a naval officer, I could recall how I felt as a newly commissioned junior officer assigned to the Training Squadron 19 years ago. So my desire was to make sure the visit was meaningful to both the UK and Japan, and at the same time I hoped that these young officers would take back wonderful long-lasting memories of the UK.
From the preparation to the execution, the Royal Navy, a friend of the Japanese Naval Service for nearly 150 years, provided valuable support for the visit. We are old and ongoing friends. In this regard, on 4 July the UK and Japan signed two important agreements: the Information Security Agreement and the Framework Agreement on Joint Research and Development and Co-production. We have cooperated on various international missions, such as the counter-piracy operations underway in the Gulf of Aden since 2009.
As the current Defence Attaché, I am happy and proud to have been assigned to the UK and I will do my best to strengthen our bilateral security relations, thus contributing to the peace and stability of the world.

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