About the time that Germany was making world headlines with her conquest,
partly air-borne, of the Low Countries, the Japanese, who are notorious
imitators, were starting their parachute training in earnest. Since the end of
1940, Japanese parachutists have received training from German instructors. In
accordance with their recommendations, most of the training since 1941 has been
conducted at Hainan Island at Sama-A (Navy) and at Kiungshon (Army). By the
autumn of that year, a hundred German instructors were reported to be in
Japan, Occupied China, and Formosa, mainly at Tatsuka, Nakamita, Shirahama,
Shibata, Tachikawa, Kasumigaura, Kogo, and Hainan Island. Some training has
been reported in Manchuria at Hsinking and Harbin, and also in North China
near Shanghai, Wuchang, Nanking, and Hsiang Fan.