- Title: JAPAN: iPhone application teaches military salute
- Date: 24th December 2010
- Summary: HANAZAWA CONTROLLING "SALUTE TRAINER" ON HIS IPHONE
- Embargoed: 8th January 2011 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Japan, Japan
- Country: Japan
- Topics: Quirky,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
- Reuters ID: LVA9H2B639US9JSVH6YWL5NY5VD3
- Story Text: It is unlikely to replace military trainers yelling at new recruits to teach them how to salute, but the Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF) has recently released an iPhone application that does the exactly same job with less stress and more fun.
The "Salute Trainer" disciplines users to salute like a navy officer using the iPhone's motion detector to monitor the accuracy and speed of the arm movements as well as the angle of the hand. A training video launched on Youtube by the Japanese Maritime Self Defence Forces takes a tongue-and-cheek look at the app.
"The application is not to train the JMSDF agents but to enhance ordinary people's interest and involvement with us," said Lieutenant Hiroshi Hanazawa, the originator of the project.
Hanazawa and his team spent a year developing the software and was well aware that they risked being criticised for being too frivolous and lax in their duties in defending the nation.
However they were pleasantly surprised by the favourable reception.
"Usually the Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force is considered stuffy and serious, but since the release of this application, many people have responded positively to us and say we were happy to find that people now seem to have a more friendly and relaxed view of our organisation," Hanazawa said.
Some ten thousand users have downloaded the free training app in the first week since its release on the Japanese iTunes apps store on December 12 and over 60,000 people have viewed the YouTube promotional video that features real JMSDF agents with more entertaining and totally fictional peripheral products -- such as the "Salute Protractor" and "Salute Muscle Reinforcer".
As for how to get the best scores, Hanazawa had a tip to master the training game.
"The key to getting a high score on this app is to move your arm swiftly to the salute position," said Hanazawa, adding that even some of the top brass in the Japanese Navy had a hard time scoring in this game.
The Japan Navy has no plans yet to redesign this app for other smart phones. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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