ok well i'm 17 and i'm about to graduate high school. i'm going to join the air force and hopefully get stationed in japan. why? well i find japanese culture a lot more respectful, japanese chicks are probably the most beautiful creatures in the world, and it's just a new country. it seems like fun. but my friend told me that women in japan try to stay away from the U.S. military guys in japan. actually not just the women, he said that japanese people in general don't like U.S. military guys over there. is this true? that is really going to suck because I want to find a nice japanese girl to marry. I'm from the united states btw.

You used "respectful" and "chicks" in the same sentence?


Yes, lots of Japanese people don't like the American military occupying their country.

Lots of that feeling going on around the world at the moment.

First off. Hello all.

Ok, I'm new to the forums and was going from thread to thread, and came across your post impeeling.
I don't want to dissuade you from joining the Air Force, however I feel there are a few things you should know that your recruiter isn't telling you.
(just so it's known. I'm a former USAF Combat Controller with 12 years in before I left for a civilian life)

1) After you arrive at Lackland, get off the bus and get yelled at after a door is kicked open. You will get to sleep at about 0300 hours. (don't set your bag down after forming ranks after getting off the bus btw.) After waking you will be lead to chow get yelled at some more, then you will head to processing. You will at some point be given a paper with 2 sets of 4-6 boxes, 1 on top, 1 on bottom. Top is for state side duty stations, bottom for over seas. Unless you show apptitude in a foreign language for the duty station you are requesting, you may as well leave the bottom set of boxes blank. However if you are fluent in the language you now have about a 10% chance of actually getting an overseas duty assignment.

2) It's cheaper for the military to assign you to a stateside duty station as it allows them to deploy you overseas to an area that requires your particular active duty assignment (job). With the situations that are rearing their heads in the middle east. Don't get your hopes up on japan.

Again I'm not saying this to dissuade you from serving your country, I'm proud to have done so myself. I just want you to go into this prepared so you don't end up dissapointed.

A recomendation for you. Airborne Communications. If your asvab score is high enough to put this job on your list... Take it!

Good luck to you!

If I remember correctly US servicemen are exterritorial, when in Japan. This means that (as far as I know and I am not a specialist on the matter) courts in Japan cannot pursue legal action onto the american troops.

That can lead to poor behavior within a small part of the contingent (as you can always find an irresponsible person in any community, no matter how ell disciplined) thus creating a somewhat negative image of the american serviceman.

This, coupled with long presence of the troops in Japan and the recent controversial political decisions (Iraq and so on) could make it hard for a person to socialize with the locals.

Also being away from home for extended periods can be difficult, especially in a different culture. The other question is how much leaves you would get, in my country we can be very strict here, so you might not have much free time to spend socializing after all.

And god forbid Japan going to war with China or Russia, while you are stationed there as it would go messy very quickly, or any other event of a major force occurring.

As far as Leaves go, you can choose to live on or off base, provided you can secure housing off base. Other wise you have your on duty times where you do your assigned tasks/job, and off duty times when you are free to leave the base as long as you return by a certain time (depends on current state of affairs/readiness) and you have your weekends off to do as you please.

This all revolves around the current required state of readiness for deployment and your duty assignment/job.

i'd like to jump in on this discussion.

im a former US service member who was stationed in Japan for almost 3 years and i'm going back in August, as a civilian, to study at a university.

i have to agree with Bryce and the other comments. if you're thinking of joining the military purely to date/marry a japanese woman, i would strongly reconsider your reasons for joining the military.

it's not impossible to get stationed in Japan, but it's not like you will have any kind of guarantee or input on where they send you. no matter what a recruiter tells you. once you sign the papers, you basically belong to the military. they might send you to Japan for a day and then tell you you're being deployed tomorrow to some place else, and there isnt anything you can do about it.

assuming you join any of the branches and get lucky enough to be assigned to a duty station in Japan, you're going to find the full spectrum of women and men in Japan.

Yes, some Japanese are interested in Americans and, yes, there are plenty of Japanese people who will avoid Americans like the plague.

yes, dating among service members and japanese nationals does happen and they can be just as strong, healthy and happy relationships as anywhere in the world.

they can also be the hardest relationships in the world to maintain. consider the cultural differences, language barriers, historical grudges, and the fact that at any moment you could be deployed and have to leave your partner.


ultimately, i think this discussion comes down to you. you said you're 17, right? I consider you still "young" and you have plenty of time to meet people and make friends before worrying about marriage. but that's just my opinion.

also, you may what to reconsider referring to women as "chicks" and "creatures"..

im not trying to dissuade you from dating in Japan. the only reason i felt like i could contribute to this thread is because i was a service member in japan and i have been dating a woman from Japan for over 3 years and we are very happy together (despite the current long distance).

honestly, this question is so vague and misguided that it's impossible to give a clear answer. it all depends.

it's like saying, "my friend watched the movie JAWS, and he told me that if I go the ocean, a giant shark is definitely going to eat me." do you see how ridiculous that sounds? there are literally infinite possibilities of what could happen to you if you join the military, and end up going to Japan, good and bad, and basing your question off of one scenario is the wrong way to go about it.

i wish you the best of luck in your search. it's not impossible, but i wouldn't recommend trying to find your soul-mate by "using" the military, its typically more difficult than some people are willing to deal with.

good luck.