沖縄の貢献に「深く感謝」　米大統領、節目に県民宛てメッセージ―復帰５０年

　バイデン米大統領は、沖縄の本土復帰５０年の節目を迎えた１５日、「民主主義、自由、法の支配に対する日本の断固とした支援とそれら理念の前進に向けた沖縄の貢献に深く感謝する」と表明する沖縄県民宛てのメッセージを発表した。
　バイデン氏は、「沖縄返還は日米関係の１ページが終わりを告げ、新たな関係が始まったことを意味した」と強調。「日米同盟はかつてないほど強固になっている」とし、「米国民と沖縄県民の人と人とのつながりは日米関係を深化させるかけがえのない要素だ」と述べた。（2022/05/15-17:53）

U.S. President Joe Biden on Sunday expressed his profound gratitude for the contribution made by Okinawa Prefecture as the day marked the 50th anniversary of the southernmost Japan prefecture's reversion to the country from post-World War II U.S. occupation.
   The Battle of Okinawa, the ground battle fought between the U.S.-led allied forces and the then Japanese military during World War II, "was one of the most devastating" of the war, with many American and Japanese lives lost, Biden said in a statement.
   "But in the decades since, the relationship between the United States and Japan has transformed from one of battlefield foes to allies united in common purpose, now the closest of friends," he said.
   "I am profoundly grateful for Japan's resolute support for democracy, freedom and the rule of law and for Okinawa's contribution to advancing these ideals," Biden said.
   Okinawa's reversion "represented an end to one chapter of our relationship and the beginning of another," he said. Noting that the U.S.-Japan alliance "is stronger than it has ever been, grounded in our shared values and our common vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific," Biden said, "The people-to-people ties connecting Americans and Okinawans are an invaluable element that deepens the U.S.-Japan relationship."