AYASE, Kanagawa Prefecture--With a U.S. military base occupying 20 percent of the city area here, tensions between the two entities over noise concerns and the risk of accident are natural, similar to other facilities across Japan.

However, Masayoshi Koshio, mayor of Ayase, hit upon an idea to take advantage of the close proximity of U.S. Naval Air Facility Atsugi.

The city, which doesn’t have a sister city abroad, has sought opportunities for local youths to go on overseas study programs. Koshio realized that the presence of the Atsugi base meant that a "foreign country" exists within Ayase.

“Can we send our youths onto the base for overseas education?" Koshio and city officials asked base officials this summer. "How about starting with just a few days?”

Atsugi officials, delighted with the request from its host city, readily agreed: “Let’s make it a year-round program,” they said.

Elementary school children here will soon enjoy a city-sponsored "study abroad" program to nurture cultural understanding and global thinking, in their own backyard.

Ayase reached an agreement with Atsugi officials to send local pupils to experience the curriculum at an elementary school inside the base throughout the year, starting in fiscal 2020.

In the past, the U.S. base has participated in cultural exchanges with schools in neighboring communities and supported English language classes. This will mark the first attempt to accept Japanese students in its school curriculum on a long-term basis.

PROMOTING FRIENDLY RELATIONS

At a test-launch event held on Nov. 4, nine pupils from elementary schools in Ayase visited Shirley Lanham Elementary School, located in the residential area of the base, to take classes and eat lunch with American students.

Capt. Lloyd Mack, commanding officer of the Atsugi base, believes that children are the future for all.

Mack explained that the program that allows children to share a different language, culture and social experience with each other will be beneficial for the pupils from Ayase.

Mack said he hopes the program will become a foundation to promote friendly relations between the two nations.

In the past, relations have been strained at times, as the presence of the Atsugi base has hindered urban development and created excessive noise and concerns over the risk of accidents.

The city government, which continues to demand the return of the land with full realization that it is unlikely in the short term, has sought ways to utilize the presence of the base for the city's benefit.

Hoping to boost movie-based tourism, the city has promoted the Atsugi base as a filming location among producers.

Koshio was pleased that the city “received a positive response this time” to its entreaty to send local students to the base school.

“We will discuss details of the program to make the best use of it for each other and build an institution to deepen our friendship,” the mayor said.

UNIQUE CLASSROOM SHARING

Shirley Lanham Elementary School is a kindergarten through sixth-grade institution with a 50-year history. It is administered under the Department of Defense Education Agency (DoDEA). Currently, about 300 children of U.S. service members and civilian employees of U.S. Forces Japan study there.

Prior to the formal launch of the program, the nine elementary students from Ayase participated in a science experiment at Shirley Lanham after school on Oct. 30.

During the Nov. 4 event, they spent a full day at the school, taking math and reading classes, playing in the schoolyard and eating chicken and meatball lunches in the cafeteria.

The Japanese students were particularly impressed with the way their American counterparts freely sit at desks and on sofas and carpet in classrooms. They were also amused and entertained by the colorful decorations around the campus.

Yuto Honda, a fourth-grader at Municipal Ayase Elementary School and one of the “international students,” said he was initially nervous, thinking that the school belonged to the U.S. military.

“But everybody there was kind, and we immediately became friends,” Yuto said.

“I am very happy that we could enjoy conversations and understand each other’s feelings, regardless of our nationality. I would like to continue to get on well with them,” he said.

The joy was mutual.

Emma Whalen, a fifth-grader at Shirley Lanham, was happy that the Japanese students got a kick out of her singing a song in Japanese.

She taught them math but it seemed hard for them to understand some technical words, which made Emma wish they could speak in English a little more.

INTERNATIONAL AWARENESS

DoDEA schools offer a course called Host Nation Studies, in which students learn about the culture of the country hosting U.S. troops.

At Shirley Lanham, students learn the Japanese language and about the nation's seasonal events, the tea ceremony, the abacus and "taiko" drums.

Aya O’Daniell, who teaches at the school, said, “Exchanges between the students of Ayase are valuable for (our students) to understand Japan and the region and develop an international awareness.”