7 Japan GSDF Troops Join Bastille Day Parade in Paris

July 15, 2018

Paris- Seven troops from Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force took part in an annual Bastille Day military parade in Paris on Saturday.

The seven, including Col. Hiroyuki Yokoyama, head of the 32nd Infantry Regiment of the GSDF's 1st Division, were among some 4,300 parade participants, who marched about 2.5 kilometers from the Arc de Triomphe to the Place de la Concorde on the Avenue des Champs-Elysees.

Visiting Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono watched the parade.

The French government invited the Japanese Self-Defense Forces to participate in the parade as this year marks the 160th anniversary of the conclusion of the Japan-France amity and commerce treaty, which established diplomatic relations between the two countries.

It was the third time for SDF personnel to join the annual parade. The first participation was in 2008 and the second in 2014.

Kono told reporters that the event opened a new chapter of Japan-France cooperation in various fields.

On July 14, France marks the anniversary of the Storming of the Bastille in 1789, a key event in the French Revolution.

Initially, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was scheduled to watch this year's parade. But he canceled a tour of Belgium, France, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, putting priority on his government's response to recent torrential rain that mainly struck western Japan regions. Jiji Press