Ground Self-Defense Force Member Alleges Power Harassment and Forced Dangerous Dance Practice

It has become clear that an increasing number of active duty members of the 1st Airborne Corps, the Ground Self-Defense Force’s elite group for high-intensity training and missions, are wishing to retire. The reason for this is that they are forced by their commanders to practice outside of work hours for the annual “inter-squad dance competition” held at the summer festival.

The elite members of the Ground Self-Defense Force’s only paratroopers, angered by the work environment, sent a letter of accusation to the author through a concerned party. The contents of the letter are as follows.

A young land paratrooper at Narashino Garrison was forced to practice dancing for a summer festival on Saturdays and Sundays, which were supposed to be his days off, as well as during off-duty hours. The number of those who wish to retire is rapidly increasing, as these talented members of the corps, who aspire to national defense, cannot stand the environment in which they are forced to practice dancing, which they can never engage in with a positive mindset.

The dance practices began to take place outside of working hours when the battalion commander, who is in command of the 1st Airborne Brigade, said, “We did not do well in last year’s summer festival dance competition, so this summer we want to win it for sure! This is the trivial reason why he said, ‘I want to win this summer! Winning this extracurricular dance does not necessarily mean promotion to a higher rank. It is just something to snack on while the battalion commanders talk about “we won, we lost,” etc. at the drinking party after the Summer Festival. It is an anachronism that such a thing is allowed to go on, but unfortunately, the sense has become numb among superiors, and there is no longer any hope for self-cleansing within the unit.

One active duty member of the Narashino Garrison commented on the current situation.

A member of the Self-Defense Forces is forced to live in a group. Even our freedom is restricted, and even the precious free time in our lives is taken away from us by the workplace. I want to use the precious time of my life for myself. It’s hard to have that precious time taken away from me like a slave.”

What is the summer festival dance competition like, which this year was held on August 3? About 10 teams participated in the competition between the various units. Each consists of about 20 people. The types of dances were devised by each team and ranged from hip-hop to Bon Odori-style dances, with each unit commander scoring the teams to determine their ranking. The summer festival at Narashino Garrison is open to the public, and many members voluntarily enjoy the competition itself, but the dance competition, which has a strong recreational element, forced some members to practice in a special way. What kind of practice was it?

They called in an instructor from outside and practiced for one to two hours at night after work, sometimes even on Sundays, which were their days off. There was no guarantee that I would receive time off in lieu of the training because it was not a training session, but just voluntary participation. But even when I protested, “If it’s free participation, those who don’t want to participate shouldn’t have to,” they wouldn’t accept my protest. In effect, we are forced to participate.

The author also obtained video footage of practice for this year’s dance competition. In the dance practice, there were some dangerous moves that made us cringe.

(1) Three people stand in a circle and raise their hands. One member of the group stands with his feet on his hands, poses high in the air, and then throws and catches the member of the group.

(2) A number of people form a circle and stand on the shoulders of each other.

In particular, in (1), there are many scenes in which the member in the center who was thrown was not supported by the members waiting below and almost fell down. In (2), there was also a scene where a member who stood up lost his balance.

The dance practice itself was conducted without orders, so it was regarded as something that was done on one’s own during free time. The current members of the team voiced the following cry: “There is a lack of safety management.

What if I get injured? What if I get injured? I think we do that much.”

‘Please don’t take it for granted that we are bound to extracurricular activities.’

If they are on duty, they should be available 24 hours a day, but if they are not, they should keep their duty hours.”

One SDF alumnus explained.

If there is a general order (a.k.a. “general order”), a work order, or a captain’s order issued as the unit’s action, in other words, if there is a “work order document,” the members must conduct dance training in accordance with that order. But without an order, or a document indicating an order, it is essentially impossible to force them to do so. Also, if this dance practice was not conducted under an order, then it is highly likely that even if there was an accident (injury), it would not be covered by the workers’ compensation procedure.”

If a superior officer did not issue a written order and was in effect forcing the employee to practice a dangerous dance outside of work hours, it would unfortunately have to be called power harassment.

According to an active duty member, there is no confirmation of the fact that a general order (written order) was issued. Furthermore, another SDF alumnus reveals.

However, there have been a number of cases of accidents that occurred during off-duty competitions, such as rugby, that were not recognized as official duties, resulting in disability and forced retirement of many members.

The number of mid-career retirements continues to increase due to a combination of anxiety over the lack of compensation for fatal injuries sustained during dance practice and dissatisfaction with the atmosphere that allows this to happen without question.

FRIDAY Digital asked the Narashino Garrison if such dangerous dance practices outside of duty hours are really being forced upon them. If injuries, etc., are pursued in an intercompany dance competition, will it be recognized as an official disaster? When we submitted a letter of inquiry, we received the following response.

The garrison has issued a daily order regarding the holding of the festival on the day of the event, but as for the practice for the interdepartmental festival, it is solely due to the voluntary participation of the members outside of working hours, and we do not force them to participate.”

The Garrison Summer Festival is an official duty, but the “Inter-Force Dance Festival,” as you asked, was planned and conducted by the Sergeant’s Friendship Association, a friendship group, and the members voluntarily participated in it. Therefore, even if injuries occur, they will not be recognized as official work-related disasters.
　The intensity of the exercise is the same as that of general and popular dances, as opposed to the high intensity of cheerleading performances, and we do not consider the “inter-company dance competition” to be particularly dangerous in comparison. Furthermore, we have not been able to confirm any complaints to the battalion commander that ‘forced participation is not right.'”

Furthermore, “If you were forcing the members to practice a dance that involves danger outside of work hours, wouldn’t that be considered power harassment? To this question, the Public Relations Office of the Land Staff responded, “The staff members were forced to practice dancing outside of their work hours.

We have received a report from the Narashino Garrison that the members of the unit participated voluntarily in the pre-dance practice and the inter-unit festival on the day of the festival, and that there have been no complaints of forced participation.

The members of the Narashino Garrison who were actually forced to practice dancing were outraged by the response of the Narashino Garrison’s public relations team and the Land Staff Public Relations Office.

The members of the Narashino Garrison’s public relations team and the Land Staff Office were angered by the response from the public relations team and the Land Staff Office, which said that the response was given without a survey and did not reflect the feelings of those who were forced to dance.

If what the members said is true, then the Narashino Garrison Public Relations Team reported the information to the Land Staff Public Relations Office without conducting interviews with the members. Furthermore, according to the combined accounts of several sources, after FRIDAY Digital submitted its questionnaire, the members of the unit were instructed not to say anything unnecessary to the outside world. It may be pointed out that the Narashino garrison is trying to cover up the facts without interviewing the members.

Furthermore, the tower, which was actually performed at the dance competition, has been the scene of many accidents in elementary and junior high school gymnastics, including “spinal injuries, upper limb amputations, and vision problems. Moreover, there was a technique in which the person at the highest point of the tower would fly through the air and the members below would catch their bodies.

According to the Narashino Garrison’s response, “We do not consider it to be particularly dangerous,” but some of the active duty personnel said, ” There is not enough safety management. What would they do if they were injured? 　 I think they are doing that much,” and some feel that they are in danger. What if it is a combat training, which is the main duty of the Self-Defense Forces, but what if it is an inter-company dance competition that is not recognized as an official disaster in the event of an accident? It is no wonder that the number of mid-career retirees is increasing.

On July 8, 2011, the Ministry of Defense announced that the percentage of applicants for the Self-Defense Forces Personnel Recruitment for FY2011 was 51%, the lowest ever. 19,598 applicants were recruited, but only 9,959 were hired, less than 10,000. While a significant increase in the defense budget is necessary, the first urgent task is probably to improve the work environment of the SDF itself.