SECURING ASIA-PACIFIC RELATIONS

Caption: Indonesian cadet Stephanus Alvin Susanto flanked by two Japanese cadets walk between classes at the NDA.
Credit: TADASHI AIZAWA

NDA Educates Foreign Cadets

In Yokosuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture, about 1,800 students study at the National Defense Academy of Japan (NDA), which is located on a hill overlooking Tokyo Bay. They are cadets of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. All students live together in dormitories for four years, and undergo extensive training in addition to academic studies in their areas of specialization. The training includes eight-kilometer swimming trials, a one-week ski camp, climbing Mount Fuji, and combat exercises after being dispatched to military units stationed at locations nationwide.

Today, the NDA accepts cadets from the armed forces of various countries. About ninety foreign students study at the Academy, from eight countries including South Korea, Cambodia and East Timor.

“The training and studies were hard, but my class-mates helped me,” says Stephanus Alvin Susanto (24), a senior student in the Department of Computer Science who came from Indonesia. “Senior students are strict during training, but they are very friendly when we take breaks. I found this well-defined relationship very comfortable.”

The NDA makes host families available to foreign students living away from home, to help enrich their lives. Alvin visits his host family in Yokohama on weekends when he is allowed to go out. They have built a relationship like a true family, dining out together and singing at karaoke bars.

“When I attended the wedding of the daughter of my host family, she introduced me to other guests as her brother. It made me very happy,” says Alvin. “I am sure there will be many occasions where Japan and Indonesia work together in the future, for peacekeeping operations and disaster relief. Drawing on my experiences from studying in Japan, I hope to serve as a bridge connecting the two nations.”