HENOKO, Nago city, Okinawa, Japan -- The 46th Annual Henoko Citizen’s Sports Festival was held Nov. 3 at Henoko athletic field.
In the opening ceremony, participants from the first through 10th sections of Henoko and the Okinawa Defense Bureau lined up for the opening remarks.
Camp Schwab, the only U.S. military base in Japan recognized as a section of a local municipality, also had about 50 Marines participating for the 11th section of Henoko in the event alongside the local residents.
This event started in 1973, and Camp Schwab has been invited and has participated ever since then, according to Fumio Iha, Camp Schwab community relations specialist.
“Many from Camp Schwab and the Defense Bureau have participated in the event and it has been exciting,” said Futoshi Kohagura, mayor of Henoko district. “The relationship between Camp Schwab and Henoko has a long history, we respect each other and I hope it will continue for years to come.”
The Marines participated in centipede races, football-handling relay races, and the 4x200-meter men’s relay races in the morning completing against local residents.
“The fact that Henoko continues to interact with Marines of Camp Schwab is good indeed for the community,” said Taketoyo Toguchi, mayor of Nago city. “I hope they will continue to have a good relationship with each other in the future.”
For the centipede race, participants tied their ankles to two poles and dash as a team for 30 meters before turning around and returning. The six Marines taking part in this event found it difficult to run smoothly as a team and were getting laughter at the venue, but they got better as time went on and were able to reach the goal.
The last event of a day was beer chugging contest and three Marines participated in it in which you chug a cup of beer and then dash for a gift bag.
“It’s a phenomenon!” said U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Daniel Thomas, deputy commander of Camp Schwab. “It represents how Camp Schwab is involved with local community and our good relationship with the residents of Henoko.”