MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- On Feb. 19 members of the Station Public Affairs Office sat down with the mayor of Iwakuni, Katsusuke Ihara, 53, to get his thoughts on the relationship between Iwakuni City and the Station (past and present), the recent curfew instituted and then lifted by the Station and also to introduce the mayor to residents here.
Question: Since you have been mayor here, being elected to a second term, how would you describe the relationship with the Station and your city?
Answer: I think we (Iwakuni City and Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni) have a great relationship. We respect each other, but we need to continue to learn from and about each other.
Question: What changes have you seen or stick out in your mind?
Answer: I had lived in Tokyo before I became mayor, so I did not know the situation here very well. But since I became mayor the successive commanding officers were very helpful, especially the present one. He knows what he wants to do for Iwakuni, and he thinks people on base are Iwakuni citizens also. This makes it very easy for us to understand ourselves.
Question: As you are aware of, we recently had a curfew instituted due to the conduct of service members out in your city. Could you please give us your thoughts on the matter?
Answer: It is unfortunate that we had some incidents in our recent past and it was understandable of Col. (David T.) Darrah, Station commanding officer to take the action of imposing the curfew. We hope these kinds of incidents will never happen again.
The curfew on the U.S. military did affect some of the Japanese businesses. They complained to me. The commanding officer came and explained the situation to the owners. It was also the first time the CO had spoken to the Japanese owners and they were pleased with that.
Question: Do you have any suggestions regarding the incidents that occur out in your city?
Answer: I know we have a lot of differences in our cultures and customs. We need to know these differences and understand them. You are all a part of Iwakuni and are considered citizens of the city. You must be responsible to yourself.
Question: Recently you visited Everett, Wash., what were some of the things you enjoyed?
Answer: Everett is a sister city of Iwakuni. We built a small Kintai Bridge there at the community college. I also did some hiking with one of my American U.S. Marine friends on the beautiful snow covered Mt. Lena.
Also, while I was in America I tried one of your popular steaks and it was too much for me! I stayed in America only a couple of days but I gained some weight immediately.
Question: Do you have anything you would like to add?
Answer: It would be nice to see more young service members join young Japanese citizens in community projects that might serve to unify the two cultures. I would also like to invite all Station residents to the grand reopening of the Kintai Bridge on March 20 at 1:30 p.m. The historic bridge recently underwent major reconstruction.
The city has many events planned and we hope to see all of you out there enjoying the opportunities your city has to offer.