Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan

Walking together in unity - From left to right, Yoshihiko Fukuda, the mayor of Iwakuni City; Masahiro Akase, the director general of Chugoku Shikoku Defense Bureau; Yasutake Lida, the director of the Yamaguchi Prefectural Iwakuni Citizen Affairs Bureau; and U.S. Marine Corps Col. Richard Fuerst, commanding officer of Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, came together to participate in the 10th Joint Leadership Walk in Iwakuni City, Japan, March 15, 2019. The walk consisted of touring popular local areas where they spoke to business owners as well as Japanese and American customers. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Stephen Campbell)

Learning the roots: station residents dig lotus roots - A Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni resident presents a lotus root dish prepared during a lotus root cooking class in Iwakuni City, Japan, Feb. 5, 2019. Station residents took a trip to a local market and lotus root field with the Cultural Adaptation Program in order to learn about the lotus root grown in Iwakuni. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Angelo Sagum)

AIMD Iwakuni spends day touring Suo-Oshima, Yanai - U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Thomas Miyano, right, the officer in charge of Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Detachment (AIMD) Iwakuni, talks with his daughters in a police car on display during the Mochi Broadcasting Carnival on Suo-Oshima Island, Japan, Jan. 20, 2019. The Sailors were invited to the event by the Suo-Oshima Tourism Association and volunteered by throwing mochi to the crowd. AIMD attended the mochi throwing event as a way to increase morale and unit cohesion. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Andrew Jones)

Girl Scouts write in new year with Kakizome - Girl Scouts with USA Girl Scouts Overseas West Pacific from Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Iwakuni, families from local Japanese schools, U.S. Marine Corps Col. Richard F. Fuerst, center, commanding officer of MCAS Iwakuni, and Masahiro Akase, right, director general of the Chugoku-Shikoku Defense Bureau (CSDB), pose for a photo during the First Writing of the Year, or Kakizome, in Waki Town, Yamaguchi, Japan, Jan. 5, 2018. The cultural interaction was hosted by the Chugoku-Shikoku Defense Bureau, alongside Waki Town and MCAS Iwakuni, so that the youth from both communities could take part in the calligraphy event.The purpose of the first writing is to express hopes and ambitions for the coming year. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Andrew Jones)

Air station residents experience flavor of local culture - Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Iwakuni and local Japanese residents attend a cooking class during the 8th Annual Culture Day at Tsuzu Elementary School in Tsuzu Town, Japan, Dec. 1, 2018. Families and service members from MCAS Iwakuni visited the school with the Marine Corps Community Services Youth and Teen Center and Cultural Adaptation Program in order to learn more about Japanese traditions. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Andrew Jones)

Motorcycle clubs give back to Iwakuni City - Yoshihiko Fukuda, front right, the mayor of Iwakuni City, watches as members of the Kurasu, Bugz and Inferno Crew motorcycle clubs ride their motorcycles in Iwakuni City, Japan, Sept. 14, 2018. The clubs were at the Iwakuni City Hall in order to present approximately 2,500 dollars to the city. The money was raised in August and was donated to the local area after excessive rainfall flooded western Japan in early July. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Andrew Jones)

MCAS Iwakuni, Iwakuni City friendship runs deep - Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni and Japanese children play dodgeball in Iwakuni City, Japan, July 21, 2018. The Chugoku-Shikoku Defense Bureau held a U.S.-Japan Sports Exchange to signify the opening of Go-Go Field to the public in an effort to deepen the bond between the residents surrounding MCAS Iwakuni and the U.S. forces in Japan. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Stephen Campbell)

Station residents take to the fields, plant rice - Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni residents visit a farmers market in Iwakuni City, Japan, June 9, 2018. Station residents visited Iwakuni City as a part of a Marine Corps Community Services, Cultural Adaptation Program event in order to plant rice with Japanese residents and learn about traditional rice farming. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Andrew Jones)

Matthew C. Perry Elementary School welcomed the Shunan International Children’s Club for a performance at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, Feb. 12, 2018. - Yuna and Sana Kosaka, members of the Shunan International Children’s Club, perform a traditional Japanese dance during a visit to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, Feb. 12, 2018. Over 60 students from Shunan City danced, sang, played instruments and demonstrated traditional martial arts for students from the Matthew C. Perry and Iwakuni Elementary Schools. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Muriah King)

A local Japanese child smiles after receiving juice at Ekimae Hoikuen preschool in Iwakuni, Japan, Sept. 8, 2016. Seabees with the Marine Memorial Chapel at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni passed out drinks and chips to the children. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Joseph Abrego) - A local Japanese child smiles after receiving juice at Ekimae Hoikuen preschool in Iwakuni, Japan, Sept. 8, 2016. Seabees with the Marine Memorial Chapel at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni passed out drinks and chips to the children. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Joseph Abrego)