Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi commemorated the 50th anniversary of the signing of the San Francisco Peace Treaty on Saturday by emphasizing the continued importance of solid U.S.-Japan relations.
Tokyo signed the treaty with the United States and 47 other nations on Sept. 8, 1951, officially ending the Second World War and allowing Japan to re-enter the global community.
Speaking at a ceremony in Tokyo, Koizumi said the U.S. introduced ideas such as democracy and the market economy to Japan, which had been devastated by the war.