Tokyo. May 22. INTERFAX-The Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces on Saturday conducted maneuvers in Shizuoka Prefecture (Honshu Island) with the participation of about 3.1 thousand soldiers, the Kyodo news agency reports.
According to the scenario of the exercise, the military defended the remote islands from the imaginary enemy, preventing him from landing on Japanese territory.
During the exercise, artillery fire was conducted with live shells. 45 tanks and armored vehicles, 54 artillery units, and combat helicopters were involved in the maneuvers. The exercises were shown in real time via the YouTube service, as the military, due to the threat of COVID-19, does not allow civilians to come directly to the site of the exercises for the second year in a row.
These exercises are held annually-usually at the end of August, but this time they were postponed to an earlier date due to the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo, the agency said.
