Recognizing 50 Years of Partnership between Japan and the United States

“As we celebrate the anniversary of the treaty, we pay tribute to its role in supporting regional security and prosperity, and strengthening our two democracies. Let us now undertake to renew our alliance for the 21st century and enhance the bonds of friendship and common purpose that unite our nations.” President Barack Obama

Today, Jan. 19, marks the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the U.S. and Japan.

In a statement released by the White House, President Obama said, “The enduring partnership between the United States of America and Japan has helped bring unprecedented prosperity and peace in freedom to our nations. Our alliance has secured extraordinary benefits for the entire Asia Pacific region and made possible the unparalleled progress of the past five decades.”

In an article that appeared in both the International Herald Tribune and Asahi Shimbun, and available on the U.S. Embassy website, U.S. Ambassador to Japan John V. Roos stressed the critical nature of the treaty, signed in Washington in 1960.

“The interests of both the United States and Japan continue to be well served by the alliance,” Ambassador Roos wrote. “The alliance has endured for a half-century precisely because each partner derives benefits from it.”

Secretary of State Clinton, Secretary of Defense Gates, Minister for Foreign Affairs Okada, and Minister of Defense Kitazawa also issued a joint statement, affirming that "the U.S.-Japan Alliance plays an indispensable role in ensuring the security and prosperity of both the United States and Japan, as well as regional peace and stability."

For more on the U.S.-Japan Alliance, visit the U.S. Embassy’s webpage marking the anniversary of the security treaty.

YOKOSUKA, Japan (Jan. 19, 2010) – Commander, U.S. 7th Fleet, Vice Adm. John M. Bird, and Commander-in-Chief Self Defense Fleet, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), Vice Adm. Masahiko Sugimoto hold commemorative plaques honoring the 50th anniversary of the alliance between the United States and Japan. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Greg Mitchell)