Thread by @NH_Ledbetter

🧵: There's a lot in the timeline these days about the entry band by the Japanese government and the costs, both human and to scholarship. Without taking away from those stories, I want to highlight additional costs that I see based on my own background in the military. (1/)

First, let me say I feel heartbroken for the #MEXT scholars, the #JapanFoundation scholars, and anyone else whose research and, more importantly, LIFE have been turned upside down by this nonsensical and unscientific ban on foreign travel. (2/)

All scientific evidence shows this isn't how to prevent COVID entry. With proper vaccination, screening, and quarantine, entry should be fine. All this does is perpetuate a divide between Japanese and non-Japanese. The virus doesn't care about nationality. (3/)

As others have rightly pointed out, there's a huge downstream effect here on Japanese Studies as a discipline. I won't belabor that, other than to affirm that I agree. (4/)

It isn't just academia or some sort of ivory tower study of Japan that is affected. Of course, the scholars involved know this. But let me share my own experience to highlight how this can harm US-Japan relations. (5/)

I spent 1995-96 as an exchange student in Nagoya. It was my sophomore year. You can learn grammar rules or kanji in a textbook in your home country, but any non-Japanese who has studied in Japan will tell you that isn't enough. Zoom won't cut it. (6/)

I learned by talking with my host family. I learned by hanging out with friends. I learned by talking to other patrons at the bar. I learned by riding the subway. I learned by getting lost while traveling. I learned through experiences you cannot replicate online. (7/)

Fast forward to January 2004, and I'm a young captain in the U.S. Army. I'm assigned to a small liaison office in Tokyo, meeting with officials at multiple Japanese government agencies, from the SDF to PSIA (their FBI/CIA) to the National Police. (8/)

At 28 and a relatively junior rank, I'm representing the U.S. Army to senior Japanese officials. It was a learning experience, to be sure, but one I couldn't have handled if I had not already had my exchange experience. (9/)

In the Spring of 2005, I move to Camp Zama, the US Army-Japan HQ, and work as the intelligence liaison between that HQ and the Ground SDF HQ at their version of the Pentagon. I'm coordinating bilateral events and working out intelligence sharing agreements. (10/)

Again, not happening without that exchange experience. In July 2007 I move to Kumamoto as a US Army liaison to a JGSDF regional HQ for 2 years. Again, coordinating joint training, meeting with JSDF generals, translating documents and interpreting for (11/)

visiting US officials. At one point I had to meet BY MYSELF with 15 local and national police representatives to explain my plan for how a visiting US Army unit was going to come to their city, do some shopping and site-seeing, and leave without making trouble (12/)

And I convinced them, and the event happened, and no problems occurred. A unit of US soldiers were able to leave their training area and learn about their host nation, and the host nation was able to see that, properly handled, they don't need to be afraid of us. (13/)

Several years later (2012-2014), I was put in charge of a US Army team that trained units working with Asia-Pacific partners on culture, language, and environment. Basically, how to avoid an international incident while working together. (14/)

During that time, I helped support the first JGSDF deployment to the US National Training Center in California. I was the senior Japanese-speaking Army officer. I did everything from facilitate the planning to be the lead evaluator (O/C) to interpret for generals (15/)

When I showed up to the first planning meeting, I knew many of the Japanese officers and NCOs they had sent to make this event happen. We had relationships. They felt better knowing I was there to make it go well. (16/)

The point isn't "look at all the cool things I did." Other people worked as Foreign Area Officers like I did, and performed similar roles. But it doesn't happen without the opportunities to learn the language and the culture. (17/)

Ten years from now, a bilateral conference between the US & Japanese militaries is going to be more difficult because there are less people on the US side with language and cultural experience. (18/)

12 years from now, a US unit is going to be stuck in a remote training area with no opportunity to show they aren't criminals and can behave downtown, while benefiting the local economy and learning about Japan, because an ROTC cadet studying now can't get into Japan. (19/)

15 years from now some US decision maker is going to miss the advice from his Japan expert adviser and completely misinterpret what his Japanese government counterparts are asking. (20/)

My experience is with the military, but it applies broadly to all areas of government and relations. Who is teaching US-based college students of the future if today's PhD candidates can't get jobs because they can't do in-country research? (21/)

Meaning it isn't just this cycle. The effects flow downstream. It isn't just academia. It isn't just Japanese studies. This should be way more concerning than COVID protection pantomime that all studies show isn't effective. (22/22)