Japan and the United States will continue to share a special bond and an unshakable friendship, the countries' leaders said in a joint statement released Thursday to mark the 10th anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake.
In the statement, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and U.S. President Joe Biden expressed their condolences to the families and communities who lost loved ones in the disaster.
Regarding Japan-U.S. cooperation in the recovery and reconstruction of the disaster-hit areas, they said, "Our joint efforts hold a special place in the hearts and memories of both our peoples -- a testament to the special bond and the unshakable friendship that is the Japan-U.S. alliance."
The joint message was proposed by Suga during a telephone conversation with Biden in January. Biden visited Miyagi Prefecture in August 2011 -- five months after the disaster -- when he was vice president in the administration of former U.S. President Barack Obama.
Biden saw "the incredible strength and resilience of the Japanese people" in the areas he visited, the statement said.
The statement also referred to the fact that U.S. Forces performed the search, rescue and relief mission Operation Tomodachi in cooperation with the Self-Defense Forces.
"Japan and the United States will continue to move forward shoulder-to-shoulder as 'tomodachi' [friends] to finish the reconstruction of the Tohoku region and to realize a better future for us all," it said.
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