Gen. Nobutoshi Watanabe, Chief of Staff of the Ground Staff Office, Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF), greets U.S. Army Lt. Gen. George A. Crocker, Commanding General, I Corps, while Maj. Gen. Robert Hicks, Commanding General, U.S. Army Japan/9th Tactical Area Command and Lt. Gen. Yoshiro Takeda, Commanding General, Northeast Army, JGSDF, look on.

Japan and the U.S. continued strengthening their bilateral relations and support for security in the Asia-Pacific region when the two nations conducted their annual command post exercise, YAMA SAKURA XXXI, from 22 to 31 January 1997 at Camp Sendai, Japan. (YAMA SAKURA means Mountain Cherry Blossom). Since their inception in 1982, these exercises have focused on the development and refinement of the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) and U.S. Army Japan (USARJ) efforts in the areas of bilateral planning, coordination, and interoperability through training.

Maj. Gen. Robert R. Hicks Jr., Commanding General of USARJ and co-director for YAMA SAKURA XXXI, said in his opening remarks, "During this exercise, you will see an increase in the use of telecommunications, computer networks and refined simulation techniques designed to enhance our training and warfighting effectiveness."

Although each annual event has grown in scope, magnitude and complexity, the exercise’s mission has remained unchanged from its original mission: "To conduct a joint/bilateral command post exercise (CPX) with JSDF and U.S. forces to train for the bilateral defense of Japan." YAMA SAKURA exercises have had four mission objectives: 1) To train U.S. ground forces for deployment to Japan, 2) Provide JSDF maximum exposure to U.S. warfighting doctrine, 3) Exercise JSDF capabilities to defend Japan, and 4) prepare USARJ/9th Theater Army Area Command (TAACOM) for its wartime mission.

Lt. Gen. Yoshihiro Takeda, Commanding General of the Northeastern Army and Co-Director for YAMA SAKURA XXXI, echoed the exercise’s purpose when he stated, "...this YAMA SAKURA exercise is the most important of the bilateral exercises conducted between the U.S. and Japan. We must put our efforts together to mutually improve, in order to accomplish our exercise objectives. Accomplishing our exercise objectives will help us attain our larger common goal of sustaining peace and security for Japan and the Far East region."

This year’s JSDF participants included elements from the Ground Staff Office, Air Staff Office, and Maritime Staff Office. The Northeastern Army, whose last participation in YAMA SAKURA was in 1993, was the major player for the Japan Ground Self Defense Force (JGSDF).

The primary JGSDF participants were the 6th and 9th Infantry Divisions, augmented for the exercise by two additional infantry divisions, one airborne brigade, an artillery and engineer brigade, an air defense artillery group, as well as an aviation group and a logistics brigade attached from Western Army. The force structure also included Northeastern Army Transportation Command, General Services, and 6th and 9th Area Security Force. Japanese participants operated from Camp Sendai, with a small Japan Air Self-Defense Force staff cell at Yokota Air Base.

The U.S. forces involved a mixture of active and reserve component units. (USARJ acts as U.S. Army Pacific Command’s "executive agent" for Japan-based exercises.) U.S. Army’s I Corps, based at Fort Lewis, Washington, is the premier war fighter in this U.S. Army Corps/JGSDF CPX. I Corps’ participation began with YAMA SAKURA XXVII in 1995. U.S. participants operated from Camp Sendai and Yokota Air Base, Japan; Wheeler Army Air Field, Hawaii; and Fort Lewis, Washington. As in previous YAMA SAKURA exercises, reserve component forces comprised the bulk of U.S. forces, this year from 38 States. However, the majority of the U.S. reservists did not operate from Japan; they participated from either Fort Lewis or Wheeler Army Airfield.

The Communications Wide-Area Network established went around the globe to overcome the great distances involved to make the exercise a success. The computer simulations were run on commercial, high speed, redundant communication networks that provided secure lines for both simulation data exchange and player operations throughout the exercise. Some of the services provided by this network were: computer network linkages, electronic mail, bilateral telephone switches, facsimile and bilateral terminals, and video teleconferencing.

Ground, air, and naval operations were driven by the appropriate component computer simulations. The Corps Battle Simulation was used for ground operations. Air Warfare Simulations Sytem was used for air operations. The Research Evaluation Sytems Analysis was used for naval operations. These three simulations were linked so that all exercise play depicted an integrated battlefield.

However, the technical challenges in providing a realistic battle simulation game for the CPX were not the only significant challenges of the exercise. Other obstacles that needed to be overcome were language and cultural differences. To better understand their counterparts, U.S. soldiers received orientations on Japanese culture and were provided an opportunity to visit homes of Japanese families.

Maj. Gen. Robert R. Hicks Jr., stated at the opening ceremony, " I am convinced that the personal and professional relationships we establish during this time period are just as important as the training we conduct. During this exercise, I ask you to share ideas and learn from each other. The relationships you build here are the foundations of a strong commitment to peace and regional security for years to come."

Those bonds of friendship were established quickly and both national forces were able to synchronize their combat power bilaterally to carry out large, complex operations for a successful exercise. The tactical level commanders were able to integrate and coordinate the critical combat functions of intelligence, maneuver, fire support, air defense, mobility and survivability, logistics, and battle command to execute successful combined arms operations.

This annual exercise continues to further strengthen the national security interests of Japan and the Asia-Pacific region. Particular gains achieved in YAMA SAKURA XXXI were the opportunity to exchange ideas on force structure, doctrine, and equipment with counterparts through: practical and realistic warfighting training in command and staff activities through the use of simulations; and continued improvement of bilateral interoperability. YAMA SAKURA also contributes to the success of future CPXs by providing opportunities for training and observation by other JGSDF armies. The CPX also enhances the operational readiness of U.S. Forces stationed in or destined for Japan.

The Japan-U.S. security alliance’s ability to secure peace and prosperity for Japan and this region well into the 21st Century was strengthened by each force’s ability to work side-by-side. "Thanks to your hard work and cooperation, YAMA SAKURA XXXI ended as a great success," Lt. Gen. Takeda stated in his end of exercise remarks. He further added, "And besides that, there were many things that we shared with each other and learned from each other in this exercise." As to the future, he explained, "I hope we will keep making an effort toward our common goal of maintaining peace and security in Japan and the Far East on the basis of the accomplishments we made in this exercise."