Debate team vs. All-Stars

The Weber State University debate team faced the Japanese All-Star team Thursday in an audience-friendly meet.

Traditional jargon was largely absent from the match-up, said Richard Tews, WSU debate and speech team assistant director. The debate was held in the WSU Shepherd Union Sky Room.

The Japanese team is currently touring and debating at several U.S. universities. The tour began in February and will conclude later this month.

Noriaki Tajima and Kaori Yamada were the members of the Japanese team. Tajima teaches public speaking at a university near Tokyo. Yamada will teach English at a Japanese high school as soon as the tour is over.

Debate is useful for developing thinking, speaking and foreign language skills, said Omar Guevara, WSU debate and speech team director.

In Japan, most debates are conducted in English, Yamada said.

Tricy Taylor, WSU political science and communication sophomore, and Aaron Dekeyzer, WSU communication sophomore, debated for the WSU team.

The 75-year-old WSU collegiate debate team is the oldest in the intermountain area, Guevara said.

Tajima began the debate by taking a picture of the audience, jokingly referring to Japanese tourists. He said he wanted them to experience Japanese culture. Yamada also snapped a photo before her first speech.

The two teams discussed the effects of increased Japanese peacekeeping efforts worldwide.

"This is a particularly important question for consideration today given the already sizeable role Japan plays in global peacekeeping operations around the world," Guevara said. "In recent memory, Japan has been actively involved, with boots on the ground, in peacekeeping operations from locations as diverse as Sri Lanka, Cambodia, East Timor and of course most recently, Iraq."

The Japanese team stressed the importance of their nation engaging in international peacekeeping activities. Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution prohibits the country from declaring war or using force to resolve international conflicts. The team proposed to amend the article to allow Japanese peacekeepers to obtain and use weapons.

The WSU debate team argued changing the Japanese Constitution could result in other nations perceiving this reform as permission for Japan to develop nuclear weapons. India, Pakistan and other countries could also begin developing nuclear weapons, which would result in an arms race.

Today at 2 p.m. in the SUB Skyroom, the WSU debate team will argue the affirmative side of the topic and the Japanese team will argue the negative. George Ortiz and Amber Wilson will be the debators for the WSU team.