March 27, 2009, Sasebo – 15 students from various universities in Fukuoka prefecture participated in a tour of Sasebo Naval Base organized by Fukuoka American Center in cooperation with Sasebo Public Affairs. After the students tried beverages and sweets at an American style café, they received a briefing about the base’s capabilities as part of the U.S.-Japan Security Alliance structure, its cooperation with Japan Maritime Self Defense Forces, and its contributions to the local economy.

The students then went on an historical walking tour led by long-time Sasebo resident Philip Eakins, who told the students about the history of Sasebo as it transformed from a small village to the location of a large Japanese Imperial Navy base and finally a U.S. base from 1945. The students were surprised to see so many families and children on the base shopping, eating and walking around and realized the base is a community. After a quick lunch, the students toured the U.S.S. Essex, an amphibious assault ship that often conducts humanitarian assistance operations including after the 2004 tsunami in Indonesia and the 2006 mudslide in the Philippines. Many of the students said their previous image of the base was completely different from the reality.