Mayor Shigeru Sugawara, left, speaks with Vice Minister of Defense Akira Sato during exercise Wakayama Alert Oct. 19 in Wakayama prefecture, Japan. As the mayor of Kesennuma City, Miyagi prefecture, Sugawara’s community was aided by the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit during Operation Tomodachi. Since the events of March 11, 2011, the Marine Corps has kept a close relationship with Miyagi prefecture community members. Wakayama Alert is a bilateral humanitarian aid and disaster relief exercise that demonstrates the MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft’s ability to respond to natural disasters in Japan. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Pfc. Cedric R. Haller II/Released)