Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan

Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, is situated approximately 600 miles southwest of Tokyo. It is located in the Nishiki River delta at Iwakuni City, where it lies at the eastern end of Yamaguchi Prefecture, the southern end of the main island of Japan. The city is backed by the mountains and fronted by the Seto Inland Sea, and its northern part adjoins Otake City in Hiroshima Prefecture. Running from east to west, the Nishiki River is vital to the over 150,000 residents and the large number of factories in the city.

MCAS Iwakuni is home to approximately half of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing that is headquartered on Okinawa, elements of the 3rd Force Service Support Group, Fleet Air Wing 31 of the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force, and other units of JMSDF. At present the station has about 15,000 personnel, including Japanese national employees.

Three hundred fifty years ago the waters of the Seto Inland Sea occupied the area where aircraft wheels now screech across an airstrip. The land here has been reclaimed from the ocean through hundreds of years of effort on the part of generations of Japanese workers. It's all part of Iwakuni's ancient history – the seldom told story of how the present air station came to be.

At the beginning of the 1600's the feudal Lord Kikkawa, a supporter of the defeated shogun, was banished to remote Iwakuni for supporting the losing side. After building himself a castle on Shiroyama, the mountain west of Kintai Bridge, Kikkawa found that he was a very poor lord. His land was officially valued and taxable at 60,000 koku of rice or 297,600 bushels, but the land only yielded 35,000 koku. To improve the situation, Kikkawa ordered his subjects to cultivate the hillsides and reclaim land along the sea front. The reclamation program has gone on ever since, with the largest area of reclaimed land being the Kawashimo delta on which MCAS Iwakuni is built. Nearly 2,000 acres of the delta have been taken back from the sea.

The reclaimed area was all farmland and village until the Japanese government bought a large portion of it in 1938, with the view of establishing a naval air station. They commissioned the new base July 8, 1940. When World War II started, the Iwakuni air station was used as a training and defense base. The station housed 96 trainers and 150 Zero fighter planes on the airstrip. In September 1943, a branch of the Etajima Naval Academy was established here, with approximately 1,000 cadets undergoing training in the Basic, Junior and Senior Officer's schools at any one time. American B-29's bombed Iwakuni in May and August of 1945, concentrating on the oil refinery and Rail Transport Office or train station areas. The last air raid took place just a day before the war was brought to a close.

The first allies to reach Iwakuni at the war's end were a group of U.S. Marines who had signed papers ending the conflict for the Japanese air base. After the end of World War II, various military forces from the United States, Britain, Australia, and New Zealand occupied the base. It was designated a Royal Australian Air Force Base in 1948.

When the Korean Conflict started in 1950, units from the Royal Navy and U.S. Air Force arrived at Iwakuni as U.N. forces. Jets flew daily to support front-line troops in Korea, returning each evening to refuel and rearm. The troop processing center located here throughout the war earned Iwakuni the title “Gateway to Korea.”

The U.S. Air Force took command of the station April 1, 1952. During its period of command, the Air Force did much to improve the base's facilities. The U.S. Navy took over the station October 1, 1954. Naval Air Station Iwakuni was greatly enlarged in July 1956 when the 1st MAW moved its headquarters here from Korea. A whole new area was procured on the North side of the station to make room for approximately 2,500 incoming Marines.

The Marine Corps first took control of the installation as Marine Corps Air Facility Iwakuni in 1958. The station, which is just over 1,300 acres, was officially designated as MCAS Iwakuni in 1962. Its mission includes support of operations, maintenance and supply of tenant units and ships.

Modern Iwakuni is represented by several major industries such as petroleum refining, paper manufacturing, and textiles to form a part of the Seto Inland Sea-side industrial area. The presence of Americans from the station coming and going throughout the city creates an international atmosphere. The people of Iwakuni, although shy and reserved, welcome the opportunity to get to know members of the station community.

MCAS Iwakuni is now relocating a runaway 1,000 meters offshore by reclaiming a half mile of the Seto Island Sea in a 10-year project. Barge loads of land reclamation fill material for the Iwakuni Runway Relocation Project were excavated from Atago Mountain in Iwakuni City and carried by three miles of conveyor to the barge for transport. Once finished, the station’s size will increase to over 1,800 acres.

The project is scheduled to be completed in 2010. Its main purpose it to reduce noise and safety concerns, strengthening the positive relationship between the station and local community.

Resources:
Iwakuni Marine Corps Air Station. Retrieved April 12, 2006, from http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/iwakuni.htm; Iwakuni City History