 weapons coupled with a fighting skill of the American soldier stand ready on the alert all over the world to defend this country you the American people against aggression this is the big picture an official television report to the nation from the United States Army now to show you part of the big picture here is Sergeant Stuart Queen one of the great advantages of Army service is the opportunity for travel to far-off lands the American service man has a serious job to do overseas but off-duty time often finds him enjoying his stay almost as if he were a tourist on today's big picture we will see Japan through the eyes of some service men who tour by well what is more or less of a magic carpet sound impossible you'll see for yourself in just a moment as we look in on the soldier in Japan the fellow talking up there that's me a captain on this tube ship to Japan the one the Colonel pointed to at Seattle and said captain you're volunteering for orientation officer this will be my second tour in Japan and of course I tell these men what I can about the Japanese people in their customs they've seen movies they've read the handbooks prepared by area experts they're loaded with information about the Isle of Nippon and the funny thing is they're hungry for more just ahead of them as a new world and a new experience unlike anything they have ever known and like anything new and unseen they have a raft of impressions before they even see the place impressions that are wild and woolly and well I'll show you what I mean take this fellow for instance I can always spot the type by the tense this is it look worrying Willie he remembers that in World War two great stretches of Japan will level to rubble by American bombs Willie still has the idea Japan is like this or maybe like this another carry over from the days of World War two a hostile country where down every dark winding alley looms the mysterious menace of the Orient a straight shooter like worrying Willie has to keep his wits about him and his hand on his six gun partner yes that's worrying Willie's impression of Japan as accurate as thinking that cattle graze on Fifth Avenue in New York City the fellow next to Willie notice that faraway look that kind of small smile like a cat thinking of a dish of cream he's paradise Pete he has the idea Japan's an Oriental paradise where all a fellow does is lounge around in a never-never land of all play and no work with this version of Japan to quote a phrase Pete will hear a lot when he gets there never hop on he'd be better off to approach Japan with an open mind to get rid of phony impressions and start fresh then I thought of something as I address these men it would be wonderful if by some magic before setting foot on Japan they had a chance to make a kind of grand tour so I told the men I wanted them to lend me something their imaginations sit back I said while up into the salt sprayed air I call out the mysterious magic passwords tux on Pentagon and presto low and behold before you can say three-day pass you're in a gleaming convertible at the port of debarkation Yokohama the gateway to see traffic with a Western world here just outside the port area imagine yourself all set to start the trip may look and feel like a top-down convertible but it's really a magic carpet carrying you through the Japan of today you start off by driving south from Yokohama the road is slick and smooth the Japanese have worked hard building and repairing highways and the good ones rank with the best in our country the shoreline has been compared for beauty with the Riviera or the Florida and Southern California coastlines yes it could almost be the USA if not for the proof to the contrary that strikes your eye those signs may be just a lot of chicken tracks to you but to the Japanese they mean a lot Main Street in a small Japanese town you're a long way from home but are up along Kawamoto draws just as fast as cousin Cassidy the way Japan will affect you depends a lot on you driving along you pull over to watch Japanese farmers at work farming is no picnic anywhere but the Japanese have it especially rough they can't afford to dog it for a minute modern farm equipment most often they just isn't in Japan is a crowded country 87 million people are packed into an area smaller than California and the worst of it is that four fifths of the land is rocky and mountainous no Japan is not exactly a farmer's dream come true maybe that's one reason why the Japanese farmer is hard at work from early morning till late at night the sight of him bending stooping tearing at the soil with his bare hands stays with you wherever you go in Japan on you go further south watching Japan on the moon you see the Japanese genius for carrying tremendous weights on bicycles you see the place of horsepower is often taken by manpower or woman power not to speak of the many times horsepower has to be given a little boost it seems that every highway crossing you see the school buses with smiling happy students at every window there is almost no illiteracy in Japan near the town of Kamakura stands one of the unforgettable sights of Japan the statue of the great Buddha cast in 1252 if you're a camera fan you'll have a field day at Kamakura more important you learn something about Japan what strikes you about the great Buddha is the poise the steady quiet calm of the face the way the hands are laid in the lap palms up thumbs touching toys and car you'll see these qualities in the face and manner of Japanese everywhere actually the practicing religion of most Japanese is Shinto a religion based on a strong feeling of awe for nature's wonders there are thousands of Shinto shrines in Japan you drive on past Kamakura the blue Pacific on your left till you come to a different kind of oceanfront site a hustle and bustle of a Japanese fishing fleet you see the Japanese working as hard at sea as they do on land in a desperate effort to ease Japan's food shortage what the land cannot give they must take from the sea thanks to Japan's fishing fleets sea products are a basic part of the Japanese people's diet you don't have to visit a fish market to be aware of this either just order a Japanese meal some sushi for example boiled rice with a slice of raw fish on it it tastes just like well boiled rice with a slice of raw fish on it but Japanese food has something to offer to the American who like something different the style of cooking is simple and the basic food is rice which is eaten three times daily just as we eat bread many Americans find the fish dishes a little hard to take but Skiyaki a blend of beef and vegetables appeals to most foreigners especially after they get the hang of using chopsticks food just seems to taste better this way when somebody doesn't get the hang a sympathetic waitress will help out after dinner the owner of a small Japanese hotel will often escort his guests on a tour of his garden the green thumb of the Japanese is well-known and well-deserved they do wonders with lawn and flowers and shrubbery Japanese treat gardening and flower arranging as an art before going to bed a Japanese style bath hits the spot it's hard to find a private bath in Japan but more the merrier cleanliness is the first commandment of the Shinto religion maybe that's why Americans find the Japanese almost fanatically clean when the facilities are available yes a hot Japanese bath needs a fellow clean and feeling like a boiled lobster be it ever so humble there's no place like home or a Japanese hotel the guests have been treated like members of the family now that they are leaving everybody comes out to wish them well a friendly wave of the hand and then a warm sayonara goodbye as the magic carpet convertible head southwest toward mountain country the tour of Japan continues up and up into the Highland country in the Hakone mountains you leave the car for a better look at the 10 province pass so called because from this point one can view 10 Japanese provinces in a sweeping magnificent view and dominating the view world-famous Mount Fuji that afternoon on glass like Lake Yamaguchi you go rowing and from the boat another unforgettable look at the beautiful snow-top mountain soon afterwards Kyoto truly a city of old Japan Kyoto has a charm all its own a blend of temples and shrines with nature at its best as at Maruyama Park where tourists flock all over Japan to see the famous cherry tree it's over 400 years old how different is the quiet old sanctuary of Kyoto from the industrial center of Osaka just a short few miles away it is here one sees that Japan is not only beautiful views and quaint ceremonies Osaka the industrial center of Japan teaches you a lot you hadn't known before Japanese industry is far ahead of the rest of Asia ranks with the leading industrial powers of the world right now for example Japan is the only non-communist country in Asia that can build a diesel engine it is this giant industrial power of Japan that is a prime target of aggressive international communism to see that this prize keeps clear of communist hands is the main reason American fighting men are in Japan today working with them is the military might of a new Japan units of the Japanese self-defense force are now in training throughout the country a combination of well-trained men and the latest military equipment makes for a first-class fighting force Japanese air missions tie in closely with America's Far Eastern Air Force it adds up to greater protection for Japan and greater protection for Uncle the magic convertible goes as far south as Hiroshima scene of a momentous atom bomb explosion in the last days of World War two most of the city was leveled to the ground the sense of the bombs fantastic power is everywhere mute but emphatic there is another kind of evidence to years after the mushroom cloud has faded away evidence in the form of a touching memorial to peace evidence in the form of new roads new buildings new schools and a new spirit which says clearly we shall not go the way of the past from these ruins we shall rebuild our nation to stand up and be counted among the countries of the free world from Hiroshima the magic convertible starts on the way back north toward Tokyo roll past mile after mile of Japanese countryside drinking in the vibrant colorful atmosphere of Japan you can see it everywhere in the crack diesel that highballs past you in the new bridges that span the rivers and highways in the newsstands on the daily papers and in the bookshops crowded with people eager for knowledge and culture in the modern movie theaters of the large cities you see it too in the features and faces of the new Japan and one of old Japan side-by-side it lingers up in the brightly colored kimonos in the traditional arts and crafts skills handed down for generations on the way toward Tokyo you stop to watch a revival of an ancient Japanese sport Yabuzami Japanese archery on horseback you are a spectator as two sumo wrestlers go at each other with no holds bar almost once your car is held up by a group celebrating a Japanese festival the Japanese year is full of festivals and floats full of pretty girls if it slows you up in traffic you don't mind a bit the festival celebration continues on until nightfall when the Japanese often explode fireworks it's the fourth of July and the Mardi Gras rolled into one but quiet is usually the rule in Japan a girl sits peacefully at her window a scholar works at his manuscript a woman performs a centuries old tea ceremony it is an elaborate ritual a strict form of etiquette developed through the ages the next day early in the afternoon the magic convertible approaches the climax of the trip who is the third largest city in the world fabulous Tokyo in the early morning the people of Tokyo rushed to their jobs pouring out of subway stations braving the hectic traffic of the streets crowded with every kind of vehicle and move on to their offices where they work industriously until nighttime lunch is the only break in an office workers long day which ends with his return home here he puts away the white collar and perhaps listens to the broadcast of a Hibiya Park concert while he relaxes with his family in a comfortable kimono the soldier in Japan sees all this and much more in Tokyo he rides past the motes surrounding the Imperial Palace the motes date back to the 17th century the emperor still lives in the palace grounds but no longer is he revered by his people as a god no do Imperial rescripts from his palace control the destinies of the Japanese people on a height near the Imperial Palace are the real rulers of Japan the diet home of Japan's Senate and House of Representatives since the end of World War two members of the diet have been elected by universal suffrage the car leaves the diet grounds and a few minutes later moves into Tokyo's most famous street where the soldier goes shopping for souvenirs there are all sorts of wonderful buys in Japan not only in the large department stores but in the stalls lining the sidewalks street merchants feel insulted if you don't stop and bargain a little at night the Ginza comes alive with fiery neon there are shows to be seen Japanese style stage plays rich in exotic imagery pre-motion bears a treasury of meaning to the tradition-minded Japanese there are also brassy Broadway type shows with lots of kicks for those with simpler tastes and for servicemen who yearn for a stateside atmosphere once in a while it's always nice to talk things over at a service club but all good things must come to an end sometime the next day you take leave of Tokyo and head back toward Yokoha but even in a magic convertible you can lose the way and must call on a policeman for directions it's not easy to understand someone in a foreign language you've got to be patient explain what you want very slowly and carefully explaining where you want to go slowly and carefully not only helps relations between Japanese and Americans but it puts the magic convertible on the right road to Yokoha the end of the trip is in sight and you're a little impatient but traffic is heavy your stall so you put a heavy hand on the horn and the noise gets you back to reality and a heart the magic convertible had served its purpose it had given these men a first-hand look at Japan and we finished just in time too that was the end of my duties as orientation officer he came ashore ready to join our units in Japan I lost track of many of the men who had listened to my lecture on the magic convertible but I don't have to guess where they are now or what they're doing not playing tourists from a convertible I can assure you along with the rewards for being in Japan go the responsibilities responsibilities paid off in work and sweat and 24-hour concentration on the job it means maintaining a first-class fighting condition ready for any emergency in Japan the American soldier puts everything he has into his job he knows by doing all he can to make Japan strong and safe and free he is really helping to keep America strong and safe and free today's soldier in Japan and in many other foreign lands is making full use of the priceless opportunity to obtain first-hand knowledge of another country's way of life knowledge that helps him become a better more understanding more mature American citizen now this is sergeant Stuart Queen inviting you to be with us again next week for another look at your army in action on the big picture the big picture is a weekly television report to the nation on the activities of the army at home and overseas produced by the Army pictorial Center presented by the United States Army in cooperation with this station you too can be an important part of the big picture you can proudly serve for the best equipped the best trained the best fighting team in the world today the United States Army