MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan — Misawa’s commissary will be open Sundays starting May 18, Defense Commissary Agency officials announced Monday.

The change brings it more in line with other commissary weekend operating hours in Japan and South Korea.

In exchange for the extra weekend day, Misawa’s commissary will be closed Mondays.

“Our shoppers have told us that Sunday is a more convenient day for shopping, so we are making the switch,” store director Jack Younger was quoted in a news release.

People, he said, tend to be busy with family obligations and base activities on Saturday.

The store will open Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Tuesday through Saturday, store hours will remain the same — 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Sunday hours may expand if it proves to be a popular shopping day, Younger said. “At Yokosuka and Kadena, the second biggest day of the week is Sunday,” he said.

The only other DECA store in Japan and South Korea closed on the weekend is the one at Camp Kure, a small Army post near Hiroshima. It’s closed both Saturday and Sunday.

Most stores close one day a week, typically Monday. Some exceptions are stores at Sasebo Naval Base, closed Wednesday, and Camp Zama, closed Thursday, according to store hours posted on DECA’s Web site: http://www.commissaries.com/

A few are open seven days a week, including commissaries at Yokosuka Naval Base and Yokota Air Base outside Tokyo, and Kadena Air Base on Okinawa.