Connecting those who have served in Japan
|
|
JUMP in the Time of COVID-19
|
|
I want to reassure you that JUMP will survive this pandemic. It is certainly true that we are currently unable to hold the in-person gatherings that have always been at the heart of JUMP. However, thanks to the support of Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA and our generous funders, JUMP is fully funded for the foreseeable future
and we hope to resume in-person events before the end of the calendar year
. Moreover, there are aspects of JUMP that are thriving, even under these challenging circumstances. For example, we continue to keep our audience informed about the U.S.-Japan alliance via
Twitter
and
Facebook
and we will be unveiling a completely redesigned
JUMP website
in the near future. I am certain that the new website will be both interesting and informative to you and the rest of our JUMP audience, whether you are here in the United States, or still serving in Japan.
Stay tuned for online event opportunities in the future and, most importantly, stay safe.
Chris Rodeman, JUMP Director
|
|
SPFUSA Tabletop Exercise Report Published
|
|
Several JUMP members participated in a tabletop exercise for our partners at
Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA (SPFUSA)
back in early February. Pacific Trident III, was the latest in a series of exercises focused on challenges to the U.S.-Japan Alliance in the Indo-Pacific. It included teams of former government and military officials from the United States, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Additionally, subject matter experts simulated teams from China, Russia, and North Korea. The
proceedings
detailing the tabletop exercise have been released along with a new publication,
Testing U.S. Allianc
e Capacity to Handle Simultaneous Provocations in East Asia
.
The report was written by Rear Adm. Michael McDevitt (Ret.) where he details insights and policy recommendations from the exercise. If you are interested in reading more about the exercise, please check out the report.
For further reading on past tabletop exercises or other military-related publications, check out SPFUSA's
publications page
.
|
|
Digital Japan Bowl Streaming Friday at 6 PM
|
Our partners at the
Japan-America Society of Washington D.C. (JASWDC)
are
hosting their annual Japan Bowl - a competition between high schools about their knowledge of Japan and the Japanese language. In the past, these schools have traveled to DC but due to COVID-19, the competition has gone online. Please join JUMP in watching the stream and cheering for the students! (You can access the stream by visiting the
JASWDC Facebook
and looking for the live video to begin around 6 on Friday.)
For more information on our partners and future events, stay tuned to
the
JUMP website
.
|
|
Yokosuka Naval History Seminar
|
|
On May 16, we hosted the first-ever
YCAPS
-JUMP online webinar. By using new online platforms, we were able to continue hosting our educational seminar series. This is the first in a series of new webinar initiatives. The gathering featured comments from scholar Mike Perrin of the National Defense Academy of Japan on the notorious life of the famed 'Miura Anjin.' Known colloquially as the "Blue-Eyed Samurai," Miura was born as William Adams in Great Britain and later became a famous subordinate to the Shogun after becoming shipwrecked in Japan. He rose to prominence through his cooperation with the shogunate and became a noble who resided in what is now modern-day Yokosuka. This year marks the 400th anniversary of his death and a chance for service members to learn about this unique aspect of Yokosuka's naval history.
Mr. Perrin answered a series of questions, ranging from basic questions about Adams' life to the controversial claims about his bones being discovered. After 30 minutes of the interview, the webinar turned to a Q&A session where Mr. Perrin fielded numerous questions from the 30+ members attending.
|
|
YCAPS-JUMP Seminar: Community Relations
The next
YCAPS-JUMP seminar
will take place on June 7. Admiral Jamie Kelly will talk about the role of bases like those in Yokosuka and Sasebo play in civil-military relationships throughout Japan.
|
|
JUMP Spotlight Series: Tell us your stories!
JUMP's
Spotlight Series
profiles U.S. service members and spouses who are serving or have served in Japan who have interesting stories of their time overseas. If you're interested in sharing your experiences. Please check out the submission guidelines on the
JUMP website
.
|
|
Share JUMP with your social network
We're constantly adding new JUMP events around the country and looking for new ways to grow our network of connections.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
