Message to the Bonin Islanders on the Return of the Islands to Japanese Administration.
THIS IS an historic occasion for the United States and Japan, and in particular for you, the people of the Bonin Islands.
In November of 1967, Prime Minister Sato and I reviewed the status of the Bonin Islands and agreed that the mutual security interests of Japan and the United States could be accommodated within arrangements for the return of administration of these islands to Japan. I take pleasure in the fact that these consultations have now been successfully concluded. I fully share Prime Minister Sato's view as stated in our joint communiqué of November 15, 1967, that the return of administrative rights over the Bonin Islands will contribute to solidifying the ties of friendship between Japan and the United States.
As you begin your new lives today once again under Japanese administration, I extend to you my best wishes for the future.
Note: For the President's joint statement with Prime Minister Eisaku Sato of Japan on November 15, 1967, see 1967 volume, this series, Book II, Item 491.
The message was made available by the White House Press Office. It was not made public in the form of a White House press release.
Lyndon B. Johnson, Message to the Bonin Islanders on the Return of the Islands to Japanese Administration. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/236921