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© (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2018.Japan's women sailors serve on frontline of gender equality
By Tim Kelly ABOARD JS KAGA©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.
37 Comments
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BeerDeliveryGuy
If they are of the same pay grade, yes. There are also certain benefits and bonuses available only for women. (Medical, childcare, extra dental etc..)
I assume your referring to the position of her left hand. She’s obviously operating the slide to “rack in” a round into the chamber.
Chip Star
This made me chuckle. Motivation comes in a forms.
sakurasuki
It's nice when they're communicating to public about their female member of SDF, they might do this to attract more people to join SDF.
From JT Articles few weeks ago:
https://japantoday.com/category/national/SDF-recruiters-struggle-as-applicant-pool-dries-up
BeerDeliveryGuy
My bad.. it says in the caption that she’s inspecting her weapon pre-training.
gelendestrasse
Do the hustle
Do women in the military get the same pay as men?
BeerDeliveryGuy
It says in the caption that she’s conducting a pre-training weapon inspection. She could be doing any number of checks, for example, shading the rear sights with her hand to see if the luminescent night sights are glowing.
that person
Although i realize this is a dream come true for some, and I applaud women being treated equally to men, I find this to be a very unfair statement. Women have always been let down and left out, but only now that desperation sets in do they decide to give women a fair chance! I'm not only talking about he MSDF
Stuart hayward
BeerDeliveryGuyToday 08:22 am JST
My bad.. it says in the caption that she’s inspecting her weapon pre-training.
I was about to the same comment but you humbly corrected yourself. I doubt
maybeperhapsyeswill do the same. Well, maybe, perhaps?
BeerDeliveryGuy
A: and it’s the job of the user to double check the weapon before use.
B: she’s not aiming at anything, but rather inspecting the luminescent quality of the rear sights
C: not all units are as well equipped as others. The red dot visible lasers are actually going out of style with laser that are only visible with NVGs becoming standard.
D: It looks to me like she’s looking straight at whatever she’s covering with her left hand.
Belrick
Not true. As in other countries, if you give an attacker warning (if able) that you know [insert MA] and they proceed to attack, you are 100% entitled to defend yourself with your skill. And even without warning, you have the right to use reasonable force to stop any unwanted physical injury to yourself.
She is clearly shielding her sights and hammer in inspection. So many wannabe knowhows in these forums.
kohakuebisu
Sexism in Japan has Japan-specific aspects, so this is perhaps not the "victory" it seems.
Japan has had high-profile sportswomen, some in strength-dominated sports, for a long time. Many Japanese high schools will have an all-girl rock band with no-one batting an eyelid at girls playing guitars or the drums. When I first came to Japan, in 1990, Japan was ahead of the UK in this specific aspect. Where Japanese women were way behind and remain way behind are in the regular workplace and in politics. The odd female firefighter or combat-ready member of the armed forces is not going to change that, just as Japanese women winning wrestling and karate medals have not done so. The right of women to fight in combat should not be "the frontline of gender equality". Inequality is far more universal and far more central to ordinary women's lives.
BeerDeliveryGuy
Only if you consider inspecting your night sights before boarding a potentially poorly lit ship a joke.
Matt Hartwell
Good for Japan. No reason women can't be in the military, especially the navy and air force.
Only some physical tasks they cannot do, which testing in the Australian Army proves and of course the lingering question about having women on the front lines and whether they become a liability under heavy fire as men seeking to protect women above and beyond what they would for other men, perhaps to their own detriment, is a pretty strong inclination.
BeerDeliveryGuy
Many civilians have no idea what military life is like either.
Pregnant sailors and children are not allowed on the current warships, why would submarines be any different?
A Soryu class submarine has multiple shower and toilet facilities, it’s not too hard to set aside a few for the women.
To answer your third question; I can’t speak for the entire military and civilian population, but my previous job had me working closely with SDF and US military. Most married younger and had more children (2~4) than the average civilian, possibly due to job security, and the SDF actually enforcing rules for maternity and yes, paternity leave. If a unit commander does not grant childcare leave (120 days for women, 15 days for men) he/she is subject to review and punishment.
The submarine service is probably one of the hardest in the Navy and one of the most rigorously screened. If women can pass the same requirements as men, I say let them serve.
CaptDingleheimer
JT, you ought to have a slideshow link on these stories so you can use more of the photos you took. I'd sure like to see them...
Luddite
Good.
Omachi
If Line and Instagram access from deplyed ships is a problem, it should be easy enough to fix, given satellites and all.
maybeperhapsyes
OK...let's agree to dissagree shall we?
AustPaul
Good on them and good to see a positive affect (shaving, ironing) amongst the male sailors!
Somewhat surprised about all the comments about her grip, you can tell all that from just one photo?
Personally I don’t see anything wrong with the image in this article and how she is holding the pistol.
juminRhee
Gender equality when men and women have same hair regulations. Why should men have to cut their hair when women don't? I recommend both being able to tie long hair back.
Yubaru
In 9 years, in a typically all male world? I find this incredibly hard to believe. I wonder if she even knows what discrimination is? And I'll bet that once she is OFF work, she has experienced it too!
Stuart hayward
Type-o
I was about to (post) the same comment
BeerDeliveryGuy
Agreed, fair enough.
Matt Hartwell
Good point. To be honest, the more women look like men in the military I think the better.
maybeperhapsyes
Educator69
whoooo... MSDF !!!
up there with the elite.
Pfft.
Goodlucktoyou
@papi. In japan martial art are illegal for attack or self defense. They have to be classed as sport.
maybeperhapsyes
Nice fencing with you though ;)
Jonathan Prin
... sailors by ending a ban on submarine duty, defense ministry sources have told Reuters.
Really ?
Some politicians have no idea what military service is ...
Do they intend baby care service in submarines too ?
Simple question : How many kids do these army women ?
LOL
maybeperhapsyes
A: It's the job of the armourer to check serviceability of weapons.
B: You look through sights, not at them.
C: There are laser attachments for what you are talking about.
D: If for some reason she were to be checking that, why is she looking over the sights?
papigiulio
Karate as a self-defense sport? Good luck.
maybeperhapsyes
@stuart hayward
I don't need to correct myself. Whether inspecting/training or live...the drills are the same.
You treat the weapon with respect and don't get sloppy.
maybeperhapsyes
hahaha....nice try BDG.
Eh...you are joking right?
maybeperhapsyes
@gelendestrasse
Whether it's clearing the weapon or making it ready...you can do this palm over the pistol (as she is "attempting" to do) or you can chamber a round using the thumb and forefinger to the rear. Either is fine. But what she isn't doing, and should be, is having a firm hold using her thumb at the rear of the slide. There are grooves in the slide exactly for this purpose. The way she is doing it could result in a misfed round or even an empty chamber if the slide is not fully retracted. To say nothing about the weapon not being pointed in a safe direction...her palm is covering the ejection port...or she will have to lower the weapon to inspect the chamber. All this cuts reaction time. Overall...terrible handling drills.
And all those downvotes? Click away guys. Only shows that you don't know either.
maybeperhapsyes
@BDG
That's not how you do it, and certainly not in that position.
maybeperhapsyes
somebody quickly disarm that woman before she shoots herself or somebody else.
She has absolutely no idea how to handle that pistol.