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.” |