 The latest weapons, coupled with the fighting skill of the American soldier, stand ready on the alert all over the world to defend this country. View 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. After World War II, we watched a struggle beginning to develop between communism and the free world. The struggle at first seemed to draw most of our attention to Europe, to Germany and the Iron Curtain countries. Today on the Big Picture, we'd like to draw your attention to our other front, the Pacific. Here, as in Europe, the free world faces Soviet communism at close range. And here also, a former enemy has now become an ally. Japan as well as West Germany is vital to the defense of the free world. It has become increasingly clear that Japan's defense is our defense. The importance of defending Japan and how this is being accomplished is our story today on the Big Picture. No one has to tell these American fliers of the Soviet threat in the Far East. They know it from experience. Without warning on a recent flight off the coast of Japan, they were fired upon by a Soviet plane. Shortly after their rescue from the sea, they tell their story. We spotted the fighters off to our right. And I turned inbound to head back. We were over water then to head back over the shore for a reason that's unexplainable to me. I just turned back, perhaps just a premonition. I turned back to a heading of west. And when we were on a heading of west, I was notified by one of the crew members that a pass was being made and in the same breath a firing pass. Flames reported outboard of number one. And we had no way of controlling them outside of the engines. So I decided in the interest of the safety of the crew that we should leave. We did not fire back as much as I would have liked to simply for one reason. That I did not get my mission accomplished and either myself or someone else from our outfit was going back to get those pictures. An incident such as this serves to remind us that in the Pacific, the front lines of the Cold War are often somewhat warm. Here in Asia, a narrow sea separates Japan and the free world from Soviet communism. Along this unmarked battlefront, there is the constant danger of a communist attack. If Japan were to fall under Soviet domination, the gain for communism would be tremendous. Not only in industrial strength, but in the securing of valuable warm water ports on the Pacific. To prevent this possibility, a strong, well defended Japan is vitally important and necessary. Not only to ward off an attack such as occurred in Korea, but to maintain our own system of defense in the Pacific. In the constantly shifting picture of world events since the close of World War II and since the Treaty of Peace of 1952, Japan has emerged as an important potential ally of the nations opposed to Soviet communism. We have made peace with a one-time enemy and it is not in words alone. Our nation and Japan have begun to cooperate in a new and growing Western Pacific defense system in which the Japan of today is the principal bulwark. The desire of the ordinary Japanese to live in peace, the completeness with which Japan has accepted a democratic way of life, such factors have helped to allow this energetic country to rebuild its war-torn cities and to proceed rapidly along the road to post-war recovery. The chief legislative body of Japan, the Diet, no longer responds to the wishes of a ruling class. Gone Forever is the domination of the warlords bent on carrying out their dreams of world domination. Instead, Japan is governed by the people themselves through their elected representatives. Today, the voter rules Japan. Given their first chance to really have a say, the Japanese have already proven themselves to be great lovers of freedom and important potential allies in the Cold War between East and West. With women voting too for the first time in Japanese history, this country is quietly undergoing a revolution toward democracy. Yet it would be a mistake to judge post-war Japan by looking only upon what is new and recently changed. Ancient customs and beliefs continue. Here, for example, there is a gathering to watch a very old sport, the Yabusama in which archers shoot arrows at a target while galloping swiftly on horseback. The game is staged on the same course used seven centuries ago. Outside the big cities, one can see that Japan is poor. No longer can it derive wealth from colonial possessions. More than ever, it must rely upon the sea, for trade, and for all the contents thereof. Not only fish, but other edibles such as seaweed. Perhaps the most important factor in the future status of Japan as a nation and as a self-sufficient partner in a Western Pacific defense system is her ability to trade with the rest of the world. Trade seems the most likely means of strengthening Japan's economy and energetically she is pursuing this course. From her excellent harbors, her products are now being shipped to world markets and it seems clear that she will be successful as an industrial nation competing for these markets. In anticipation of greater commerce with the rest of the world, she is building more ships with help from the United States through the mutual defense agreement. Our aim is to help Japan help itself for her sake as well as our own. Our actions are based upon the realization that the communist danger is a real one and steps must be taken to face it. The clarity of the Soviet threat to take Japan by one means or another can be seen in the May Day riots in Tokyo during the last few years. Russia and red China working to lure Japan away from cooperation with the United States and into the red orbit are well aware of the advantage of millions of Japanese brought to their mainland as a labor force and put to work in a war economy. The danger from within continues and Japan has much to fear from a red attack from the outside as in Korea. Today, the communist strategy is being pushed on all levels, political, military and economic. Our answer has been increasing cooperation on all levels. In the sphere of trade, we are pointing out ways for the Japanese businessman to discover new markets in America as well as elsewhere. Japan, in spite of military defeat, is still the most advanced Asiatic nation. Her people have greater industrial capacity, skill, organizing ability and technical and scientific know-how. We want them as our ally and fortunately we are building our alliance on a solid foundation begun immediately after the war. Since the first days of the occupation, we have avoided the role of victor and instead have attempted to understand and guide the Japanese people. We have tried to show them the way and then allowed them to carry on by themselves. As a result of this post-war policy, we have earned a considerable amount of respect and trust. Our military occupation of Japan was unique because as a conquering nation we rejected force or even persuasion. We simply offered democracy. Japan, although steeped in the past, responded to this kind of treatment and our military personnel were accepted more as friends than as conquerors. They in turn found much to appreciate in Japanese life. To them, mysterious Japan closed to the world until the 19th century became a friendly country and a respect grew for the gentle way of life of the Japanese people. Troops stationed in Japan after the war found life here not always interesting or comfortable. Occupation duty was a job to be done and was far from home and duty in the states often seemed highly desirable. Also, there were periods of stepped up training and these seemed hard to understand. After all, the war was over. Although to some men the routine of active training may have appeared not only endless but pointless there was method to these refresher courses as later events were to prove. While these men were coupling their military training with occupation duties another military force not far away was girding itself for a major invasion that would ultimately shake the free world into full realization of the nature of communism in the post-war world. The attack by communist troops eventually came and many of these men who were here in Japan primarily as occupation forces were overnight in the thick of fighting in Korea flown to the front to halt the red invasion. The experience of these occupation troops who were small in number compared to the enormous red force that attacked South Korea has been a lesson in preparedness. Ready as these men were, many were lost. They were not enough to stop the invasion at the outset when it might have been stopped. Keeping a larger number of our troops in Japan on active training duty Prepared for defense in this area was our initial reaction to the shock of Korea. Duty in Japan in 1952 was serious business. Training maneuvers ready troops for action in Korea. This was the primary reason for these military preparations but there was another strategic reason for having troops here ready to defend and counterattack. The defense of Japan itself. With the war in Korea over the danger to Japan continues and men are needed on its beaches to fend off the enemy wherever he might strike. The expense of defending Japan with large numbers of our own ground troops mounted. Gradually a new strategy began to evolve after the Korean War based to a large degree on the developing techniques of troop transport by air. If necessary we could fly large numbers of troops to the scene of new Soviet crimes. In this way we would not be forced to place our forces in a long thin defense line in the western Pacific. The mobility of ground troops seemed to be one answer to the danger that the Reds might strike anywhere, anytime. There was no doubt of the value of having men and equipment ready to be flown on a moment's notice to areas under attack. But such troops could not alone defend us or Japan in the western Pacific. Some troops were needed along a defense perimeter in order to continually discourage Soviet attack. Until recently American troops have been used in Japan both for this local defense purpose and as a mobile air transported fighting force. Not long ago on Japan's northernmost island Hokkaido we maintained ground troops on a year round basis. These forces patrolling the shores of Japan closest to Red dominated territory are no longer in this front line position of defense. Today Hokkaido is not being guarded by American troops. Instead the bulk of the American force which has been required in Japan for purely local defense is being gradually brought back to rear bases. The departure of many American troops from the far east is part of a major change in U.S. strategy. Formerly our policy was to commit large numbers of U.S. land forces in Asia to a degree that left us no strategic reserves. In effect we spread our power thin. Now we are bringing back many of our troops to reserve bases such as Okinawa and Hawaii and the U.S. As a result we will be better able to use our fighting forces with massive retaliatory power wherever communism strikes at the free world. Our new policy is to deter aggression by responding to communist attack with highly mobile, naval, air and amphibious units with greater effect than ever before. These troops going back to Hawaii in most leisurely fashion will be trained on these islands to retaliate instantly in Asia or elsewhere by means and at places of our choosing. Meanwhile in Japan local defense will be handled by the Japanese themselves. Back in 1946 the nucleus for the present Japanese military setup was a well organized and trained police force. Just as in those days we were anxious to see Japan maintain internal security we are interested today in seeing the Japanese people well prepared to defend their homeland from outside attack. Back in the post-war years we provided American instructors to help the Japanese police in their training. In a similar way we are now guiding a new Japanese military organization so that it may become capable of undertaking the difficult responsibility of national defense. The National Police Reserve which was formed to preserve order in Japan had from the beginning many characteristics of a real army. Men enlisted for two years, lived in barracks, adhered to army camp routine and took part in formal military reviews. The discipline was encouraged but not by a stick, a method of enforcement for which the old imperial infantry was well known and feared. Instead of being drafted from the rice paddies, men were almost entirely volunteers and morale as a result was good. Careful supervision by our occupation leaders prevented any possibility of a military organization being formed which did not serve the best interests of the Japanese people. Officers and men of the police reserve wore uniforms similar to those of the U.S. Army and the organization itself followed the pattern of divisions, regiments, battalions and companies. Out of this police organization came the National Safety Corps, presently called the Japanese Self Defense Force, an army which we in America will regard with increasing interest for the role it will play in the defense of Japan and in our system of Western Pacific defense. The Japanese people turned out in full to watch their new army. It was different from the one that had paraded back in the days of imperial power. The men they saw were not the sullen types of the old army, soldiers contemptuous of the ordinary Japanese citizen. This was a different kind of Japanese in uniform, one whose first duty was not to the warlords but to the Japanese people. Today, many problems lie ahead for this new army. Most important is the need for adequate equipment which at present time her own industries cannot provide. Although we are helping to rebuild this Japanese force through our mutual defense agreement, more equipment is needed to match the increasing buildup of men and equipment in Asia by the Soviet Union and her satellites. More than an army is needed to protect the long shore of Japan with its many excellent ports. Japan does have a maritime force at the present time, but it is much less developed than her army, having some 120 small ships. Among these are 18 obsolete frigates and 50 slow landing craft. In the near future, Japan is expected to receive destroyers from the United States. Similarly, the Japanese Air Force is receiving planes and flight instruction. Gradually, Japan's ability to defend herself is being bolstered. For years, American troops have been stationed here in Hokkaido to keep an eye on the Russians, who occupied bases only a few miles away. But now on Hokkaido, we are able to pull back our troops to a position of strategic reserve and 50,000 Japanese soldiers, more than one-third of the nation's self-defense force, are moving in. The changeover is a real step forward in our mutual defense. In the turnover ceremony is an address by Lieutenant General Hickey, Deputy Commander of Army Forces in the Far East. In departing your beautiful northernmost island, we of the United States Army leave with a feeling of sincere regret at separation from our most hospitable and friendly people. The industry and individuality of your people have been an inspiration to our forces stationed here. Our stay with you has resulted in a feeling of mutual respect and has served to bring our two nations into closer ties than would otherwise have been possible. I extend to you the best wishes of the United States Army for continued success in your defense mission. We are reducing our garrisons in Japan as the Japanese forces grow in strength, but the goal of a self-reliant self-defended Japan is far from realization. In the meantime, Japan needs our aid, especially in her defense against air attack. Here in Japan, an American anti-aircraft outfit is on the lookout for Soviet planes every day, 24 hours a day. There have been estimates that the Reds have on the Asian mainland a minimum of 200 B-29 type bombers, more than the United States had during its peak effort against Japan during the Pacific War. In addition, the Russians are said to have several hundred light jet bombers capable of hitting almost any part of Japan. Planes could be over Japan in less than an hour after taking off from nearby Soviet bases. Under such circumstances, there is reason in this outfit for a daily 24-hour alert. These Americans in Japan have a job that keeps them on the run. Once they hear the signal, there's just one place to be, at the guns. With teamwork and practice every day, these men are becoming deadly accurate in the use of the highly complicated machinery required for anti-aircraft fire. Why this American outfit is stationed in Japan, what their mission is in our Western Pacific defense system, is stated by their commander, General Eugene Cardwell. World affairs require the presence of United States forces at strategic locations around the world. Here in Japan, an air defense system has been established that defends the length and breadth of these vitally important islands. The defense of Japan is just one part of the global air defense system that ultimately protects the United States from attack. We are depending on the Japanese as they show greater ability to defend themselves, but we are continuing to rely on our own men and their skill and knowledge in key positions in the Western Pacific. Were the enemy to attack, he would meet a strong local defense force in Japan and would then be hammered by a massive retaliatory blow by our reserves brought swiftly from rear bases. We have learned what we had to in Korea, and we will hit back faster if attacked with greater power. If we are attacked, we, the United States and Japan, joined in collective defense in the Western Pacific, will be ready. We are meeting the Soviet threat to our West by helping Japan defend itself and by standing behind her with our own forces in the event of Soviet attack. This is Sergeant Stuart Queen inviting you to be with us next week for another look at 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 Signal Corps Pictorial Center. Presented by the U.S. Army in cooperation with this station. You can be an important part of the big picture. You can proudly serve with the best equipped, the best trained, the best fighting team in the world today, the United States Army.