- Title: HAITI: Japanese troops mark change of command
- Date: 19th March 2010
- Summary: PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI (MARCH 18, 2010) (REUTERS) UNITED NATIONS, JAPANESE AND HAITIAN FLAGS FLUTTERING IN WIND JAPANESE SELF DEFENCE FORCES WALKING ALONGSIDE TENT IN MILITARY BASE JAPANESE TROOPS STANDING JAPANESE TROOPS STANDING AT START OF CHANGE OF COMMAND CEREMONY UNITED NATIONS BADGE ON BLUE BERET JAPAN INSIGNIA ON UNIFORM JAPANESE TROOPS LISTENING TO SPEECH BY GENERAL HANDS CROSSED IN SOLDIER'S BACK GENERAL ADDRESSING TROOPS GENERAL TALKING SOLDIERS LISTENING MASAHARU YAMAMOTO, COLONEL, FIRST CONTINGENT COMMANDER, HANDING OVER FLAG TO MASASHI FUKUNAGA, COLONEL, SECOND CONTINGENT COMMANDER YAMAMOTO AND FUKUNAGA HOLDING FLAG SOLDIERS FEET IN LINE (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) MASAHARU YAMAMOTO, COLONEL, FIRST CONTINGENT COMMANDER, ANSWERING QUESTION 'WHAT MEMORIES WILL YOU BRING BACK TO JAPAN ?', SAYING (rough translation from military translator) "The Haitian people are very tough and the recovery has started. after talking to and working with the Haitian people, I came to the conclusion that the human race is the same all across the world, that was a strong feeling that I will be taking back with me.'' SOLDIER IN FRONT OF TENT JAPAN INSIGNIA ON UNIFORM (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) MASASHI FUKUNAGA, COLONEL, SECOND CONTINGENT COMMANDER, ANSWERING QUESTION 'HOW WILL YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH EARTHQUAKE IN JAPAN HELP YOU IN HAITI ?' SAYING (rough translation from military translator) "I was born in the Kobe prefecture in Japan which was hit by a huge earthquake so I had experience with that. Two months after the earthquake in Haiti, there are still so many collapsed buildings so we want to start operations as soon as possible" YAMAMOTO POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS AT ENTRANCE OF CAMP
- Embargoed: 3rd April 2010 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Haiti
- Country: Haiti
- Topics: Defence / Military
- Reuters ID: LVADN6IF8PJ2AEYOS6XQRFQQK6MP
- Story Text: Japanese Self Defence Forces in Haiti held a ceremony on Thursday (March 18) to mark a change of command between the first and second contingent.
The troops have been assisting in reconstruction efforts since the devastating January 12 earthquake which killed at least 200,000 people.
The 280 soldiers of the first contingent have been gradually replaced by a new influx of 350 soldiers. The last soldier is set to arrive on March 22.
During the ceremony, Lieutenant General Miyajima thanked the outgoing troops for their work which included the construction of a camp, airport runway reconstruction and clearing debris from a key museum.
Miyajima urged the second contingent to continue the mission.
Getting ready to depart, Colonel Masaharu Yamamoto praised the Haitians for their resilience in the face of a massive disaster.
The colonel in charge of the second contingent, Colonel Masashi Fukunaga, said he hoped his experience would help the people of Haiti.
The Japanese forces have been involved in the clearing of rubble as well as engineering works.
They brought with them 13 heavy engineering machines and 140 other vehicles. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None