Summer Soldiers

is a 1972 Japanese drama and anti-war film written by John Nathan and directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara. It follows U.S. army deserter Jim who tries to seek refuge in Japan during the Vietnam War. Plot G.I. Jim has deserted from the U.S. Army and is seeking refuge in Japan. While he constantly changes his hide-outs, Jim, who does not speak the language, is confronted with cultural differences, meeting average Japanese people, political radicals who want to use him for their purposes, and other deserters. Cast Keith Sykes as Jim Reisen Ri as Reiko Kazuo Kitamura as Tachikawa Toshiko Kobayashi as Mrs. Tachikawa Shōichi Ozawa as Tanikawa Tetsuko Kuroyanagi as Mrs. Tanikawa Teruko Kishi as Mother Hideo Kanze as Shimezu Hisashi Igawa as Ota Kunie Tanaka as Fujimura Takeshi Katō as Driver Greg Antonacci as Miguel Barry Cotton as Daryl John Nathan as Pete Production and release Summer Soldiers was Teshigahara's first feature film in four years, producing a script by American writer and translator John Nathan. It was the first time that director Teshigahara photographed one of his films himself. Summer Soldiers also marks the only time that Teshigahara's wife, actress Toshiko Kobayashi, starred in one of his films. Nathan later claimed that he directed the English-language scenes himself.