Friendship Day cancelled

The annual Marine Corps Air Station Friendship Day has been cancelled due to budget constraints. Held on May 5 during the Golden Week holidays the event attracted over 200,000 to the base. After a year off due to the Tohoku quake, a new attendance record was set last year when 280,000 people visited for the air shows, displays and hot dogs.

The air station announced on March 25 that US military airshows had been cancelled worldwide due to “budgetary uncertainty”. Yesterday, the base made an official announcement that the event will not be going ahead this year.

Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni wishes to extend its deepest regrets to the surrounding community that the air station will not hold a Friendship Day in 2013. The annual event, originally planned for May 5, was cancelled due to fiscal constraints also known as sequestration.

Friendship Day is just one of the more than 370 community relations events in which members of MCAS Iwakuni participate each year. We greatly value our friendship with the City of Iwakuni and our host Nation. We look forward to continuing the spirit of friendship and cooperation as we support the U.S. – Japan Security Alliance.

Iwakuni mayor, Yoshihiko Fukuda, is quoted in the Chugoku Shinbun as saying that the cancellation is unfortunate, but understands that is unavoidable. He added that he looks forward to fostering relations between the base and local community in other ways.