This year marks the 70th anniversary of the entry into force of the San Francisco Peace Treaty. Forty-eight allied powers, including the United States, the victor of World War II, and Japan, the defeated country, signed the treaty in 1951 to clear up responsibility for the Asia-Pacific War and establish a peace regime in East Asia.
In March 2004, the last time controversy over the Senkaku (Diaoyutai) islands surfaced, the US State Department affirmed that the United States Mutual Security Treaty with Japan covered the islands.