Pacific Trends rocks Okinawa

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Steve Helfand, Pacific Air Forces band drummer, plays the drums during a performance at the Keystone Theater on Kadena Air Base, Japan, Feb. 7, 2013. The show was performed for more than 800 students from local military base schools. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Brooke P. Doyle)

Pacific Trends rocks Okinawa

U.S. Air Force Senior Airman William Pressgrove, Pacific Air Forces band vocalist, sings a rock song during a performance at the Keystone Theater on Kadena Air Base, Japan, Feb. 7, 2013. The show was performed for more than 800 students from local military base schools. Later that evening the band performed again for all service members and their families. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Brooke P. Doyle)

Pacific Trends rocks Okinawa

The Pacific Air Forces band, Pacific Trends, performs with a little help from the audience on Kadena Air Base, Japan, Feb. 7, 2013. The show was performed for more than 800 students from local military base schools. Later that evening the band performed again for all service members and their families. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Brooke P. Doyle)

Commentary: Another face of Okinawa and U.S military

Published Feb. 24, 2013
By Masafumi Miyamoto
Chief Editor, Sankei Shinbun Naha Branch

NAHA CITY, Japan -- On February 6, concert "An evening of Real American Music" was held in Naha City. The host was the Okinawa Keystone Lions Club, and the performer was Pacific Trends, a band of seven members assigned to the USAF Band Pacific-Asia, who is engaged in various concerts as a goodwill ambassador through music in the Pacific region.

As the concert started at 7 p.m., the venue immediately became full by 250 audience members. During the 1.5 hours performance, the band members played 17 selections from the 1960's, latest hits and pop to rock and jazz with excitement filling the air of the entire hall.

The highlight of the concert was their performance of an Okinawan folk song "Basho-fu," which was the fruit of their strict training for two months aiming at this concert. As the vocalists started singing the unique tune of the song in perfect Japanese, a surge of excitement hit the entire audience.

Okinawa is generally known for the place of anti-America [military] struggles. However, it is not necessarily true that only an anti-America [military] sentiment pervades the island.

According to surveys conducted by the host after the concert, some audiences commented, "[The concert] provided great listening by high-quality, top-level performance," "Their smiles and a sense of humor were great," "It was surprising to see how well the band performed Japanese songs," and "My mother was listening with tears." Other comments such as, "Please keep up the good work for the U.S.-Japan friendship" and "Although there are negative news, this type of interaction should be continued," followed.

The activities of U.S. military is not only limited to this. Next month will mark the second year anniversary after the Great Japan East Earthquake, and there are exchanges continued between U.S Marine Corps in Okinawa and children of the Oshima, Kisennuma City, Miayagi Prefecture, an island severely damaged by the earthquake.

Oshima is an island located 25 minutes away from the Kesennuma Port by ferry. After the earthquake, the island experienced some consecutive days without a reach of disaster relief from the mainland. During the period, the USMC transported relief supplies, cleaned up the island and supported recovery efforts. As a result, trustful relations were nurtured [between islanders and them] and youth exchange programs were initiated, one of which was a home-stay program.

From January 11 to14, 24 students from Oshima Elementary School and Oshima Junior High School stayed at families of USMC members and experienced half a day in the same classroom as host children attend, participating in such things as arts and crafts. However, such exchanges between Japanese people and U.S. military are rarely covered by media because Okinawa must continue to be the hub of anti-U.S. military struggles.

I do not mean to praise the activities of U.S. military overly. However, there is another face [aspect] of Okinawa that people's exchanges with the U.S. military do exist.

To read the original article (written in Japanese), please click here.