Japanese Naval Vessels Visit Anchorage

From an article in the Alaska Dispatch News:

Two naval ships from the Japan Training Squadron — the destroyer Harusame (DD102) and the training ship Kashima (TV3508) — moored at the Port of Anchorage on Wednesday morning, Sept. 27, 2017. The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ships are on a 163-day overseas training cruise that began in May and will cover approximately 30,000 nautical miles with ports of call in eight countries. They'll return home on Nov. 1. Rear Adm. Koji Manabe said, "The purpose of our overseas training cruise is to develop seamanship of the newly commissioned officers, to cultivate their minds as the future leaders, and also promote mutual understanding and goodwill with the countries we visit."

There's a brief but interesting video in the linked article. Cool stuff.