Chuo University Students Visit Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka
By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Charles OkiNavy Public Affairs Support Element West Det. Japan
YOKOSUKA, Japan - Students and faculty members from Chuo University visited Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka Aug. 2.
Twenty-seven students, one professor and two members of the Japanese Defense Ministry toured CFAY to gain a better understanding of the function and history of the U.S.-Japan alliance.
During the tour, the students viewed a presentation that provided background information and details of the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan that was created January 1960.
"One of the biggest thing I spoke about was the mission and organization of U.S. 7th Fleet and how Commander Naval Forces Japan (CNFJ) works with U.S. Forces Japan and the Japanese government," said Lt. Cmdr. David Wilcox, a Cincinnati native and CNFJ bilateral coordiniation officer. "One of the most important parts of the presentation was showing them how Japan has an indespensible role in helping sustain U.S. Naval operations in east Asia to maintain security and stability."
Due to the secure nature of most overseas military bases, most host country nationals that live far away from bases never really know what goes on past the gates. The visit gave students a first hand look at life on a military installation.
"Because most Japanese people don’t have a relationship with the bases most have misconceptions of what the bases are like," said Kouki Uchiyama, a 3rd year student at Chuo. "We all had our idea of what the base was going to be like and most of us thought you would see people learning how to fight or doing military things, but now that we’re here we can see that its just like an ordinary town."
The visit also helped students learn more about how the U.S. came to help Japan in the aftermath of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami during Operation Tomodachi. During this time many opinions of the U.S. military in Japan changed said Yuko Kondo, a graduate student at Chuo.
"Some Japanese people used to think that the U.S. was taking advantage of Japan by being here," said Kondo. "After March 11 and Operation Tomodachi, peoples perceptions changed after seeing the U.S. military respond to the disaster. The Japanese people got to see how friendly and caring the American forces were while they were helping those affected.
According to Prof. Makoto Arai, the goal of the visit was to give the students a chance to formulate their own opinions of the alliance through their own experiences rather than a textbook.
"These students only had knowledge from textbooks written by people with views that may have been negative or outdated," said Arai. "Hopefully through this visit they will be able to realize on their own how important the relationship between Japan and the U.S. is and hopefully make it better in the future."
This article was originally published at: http://www.c7f.navy.mil/news/2011/08-august/002.htm
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