Visitors from Suo-Oshima present air station students with mikans

Matthew C. Perry and Iwakuni Elementary Schools hosted a mikan presentation at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, Jan. 28, 2019.

Japanese farmers visited the school bearing mikans as gifts for the students. Mikans are a unique fruit to the country and the farmers wanted the children to experience them while in Japan.

“I know that generations and generations of children that come to Japan love mikan, and it is my pleasure to bring them mikans,” said Akihiko Kimura, head of the Suo-Oshima Agricultural Cooperative Association.

Mikans are a citrus fruit native to Japan that closely resemble tangerines and clementines. Its scientific name is Citrus unshiu and is part of the Rutacaea family under the Citrus genus.

The visitors came as spokesmen for the Suo-Oshima Agricultural Cooperative Association, Iwakuni Kouin Seika Co. Ltd. and Iwakuni Produce Commission Merchants Association.

Distinguished guests who attended the presentation were Yoshihiko Fukuda, mayor of Iwakuni City, U.S. Marine Corps Col. Richard F. Fuerst, commanding officer of MCAS Iwakuni, and Sgt. Maj. Joseph Gregory, sergeant major of MCAS Iwakuni.

After the presentation, Curtis Brown, a student representative of the elementary schools thanked the visitors in Japanese and English.

Photo Caption:
Farmers from Suo-Oshima, Curtis Brown, the student representative of Matthew C. Perry and Iwakuni Elementary Schools, Yoshihiko Fukuda, mayor of Iwakuni City, U.S. Marine Corps Col. Richard F. Fuerst, commanding officer of Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Iwakuni, Sgt. Maj. Joseph Gregory, sergeant major of MCAS Iwakuni, and Dwayne Jefferson, principal of Iwakuni Elementary School pose for a photo during a mikan presentation at MCAS Iwakuni, Japan, Jan. 28, 2019. Farmers arrived at the school bearing mikans as gifts for the students. Mikans are a unique fruit to the country and the farmers wanted the children to experience them while in Japan.