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A remarkable view of the Japanese military's shifting role in post-war Japanese society.
Granted unprecedented access to Japan's "West Point" - the
National Defense Academy - WIDE ANGLE captures a
remarkable view of the military's shifting role in post-war
Japanese society. Since WWII, Japan's American-authored, pacifist
constitution has mandated a strictly defensive military force. But
the line between defense and offense has blurred in recent years,
as Japan looks over its shoulder at North Korea's nuclear ballistic
missiles and China's growing military and
economic strength. Today, Japan's $40 billion military budget is
the fifth largest in the world. The Japanese Ground Self-Defense
Forces recently sent troops to Iraq - the first time Japanese
soldiers have entered an active combat zone in three
generations - and the Air Self-Defense Forces have acquired a
fleet of sophisticated fighter jets capable of projecting power
across Asia. As Japan reconsiders its military rules of
engagement, WIDE ANGLE follows National Defense Academy
cadets preparing for a future that may involve overseas deployment
. Viewers meet a group of peace marchers - some of them
atom bomb survivors - on a grueling two-month march from Hiroshima
to Tokyo dedicated to safeguarding the constitution's Article 9 "no
war" clause and keeping Japan's troops at home. With unprecedented
access to joint maneuvers with the United States Marine Corps,
surveillance flights over the Sea of Japan and the DDH
Hyuga - the first Japanese aircraft carrier built since
WWII - "Japan's About-Face" offers unprecedented insight into
the future of Asian geopolitics.