WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will host Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Wednesday for talks on the delicate security situation in the Pacific and a glitzy state dinner, honoring a leader who has proven to be one of Biden’s strongest allies in the Pacific . faced with a series of international crises.
Kishida’s official visit completes the administration’s celebration of the leaders of the Quad, the informal partnership between the U.S., Japan, Australia and India that the White House has focused on since Biden took office. As Biden administration officials put it, they have saved the most crucial relationship for last.
The visit will mark the realization of Japan’s transformation from a regional player to that of a global influencer – with senior Biden administration officials appreciatively noting that the US does little around the world that Tokyo does not support. They noted Japan’s eagerness to take a leading role in efforts to support Ukraine against the Russian invasion or the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Biden and Kishida are also kindred spirits as politicians, both facing difficult political headwinds on the home front as they try to navigate increasingly complex issues on the global stage. Like Biden, Kishida was dogged by low approval ratings for much of his term.
Biden’s re-election efforts are being overshadowed by an American electorate concerned about inflation, unrest among some Democrats over his handling of the war between Israel and Hamas, and concerns about whether, at 81, he is too old to to serve another four years.
Kishida, meanwhile, is dealing with a Japanese economy that has slid to the fourth largest in the world after shrinking in the final quarter of 2023, falling behind Germany. Polls in Japan show support for Kishida, who was elected in 2021, has fallen as he faces a corruption scandal involving political funds within his ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
“For President Biden, this is of course an opportunity to highlight and strengthen progress in the relationship, the most important bilateral alliance in the Indo-Pacific. It’s an opportunity to maintain the urgency and momentum in this relationship,” said Christopher Johnstone, a former national security official in the Biden administration and now chairman of Japan at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “For Kishida, it is an opportunity to demonstrate his ties with the US, to strengthen support at home.”
There are differences between the leaders. The visit comes after Biden announced last month that he opposes the planned sale of Pittsburgh-based US Steel to Japan’s Nippon Steel, exposing a clear rift in the partnership at a time when the two leaders are looking to strengthen it. Biden argued in his opposition that the US must “maintain strong American steel companies, powered by American steelworkers.”
Biden will welcome Kishida with a beautiful arrival ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House on Wednesday morning. The leaders will hold Oval Office speeches and a joint news conference before the formal dinner, including an after-meal performance by singer-songwriter Paul Simon, a favorite of both Kishida and first lady Jill Biden.
The Bidens hosted Kishida and his wife for dinner Tuesday night, taking the couple to dinner at BlackSalt, a seafood restaurant in an upscale neighborhood in the nation’s capital.
The couples also exchanged gifts. The Bidens presented Kishida with a three-legged table handmade by a Japanese-American company in Pennsylvania. The president also gave Kishida a custom framed lithograph and a two-piece LP set signed by Billy Joel. Jill Biden gave Yuko Kishida a soccer ball signed by the U.S. women’s national team and Japan’s women’s national team.
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said leaders will announce plans to improve U.S.-Japan military ties, with both sides looking to deepen cooperation amid concerns about North Korea’s nuclear program and China’s increasing military assertiveness in the Pacific.
Kishida and Biden are also expected to confirm Japan’s participation in NASA’s Artemis moon program, as well as the contribution of a lunar rover developed by Toyota Motor Corp. and the inclusion of a Japanese astronaut in the mission. The rover, costing about $2 billion, would be the most expensive contribution yet from a non-US partner to the mission.
Leaders are also expected to announce cyber initiatives and new educational partnerships, and Kishida will participate in the planting of a cherry blossom tree on the National Mall, an administration official said.
Biden has praised Japan for significantly increasing defense spending and increased economic and security cooperation during Kishida’s tenure.
Japan acted quickly in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, joining the US and other Western allies in imposing aggressive sanctions on Moscow, and Japanese automakers Mazda, Toyota and Nissan announced their withdrawal from Russia.
Tokyo has been one of Kiev’s biggest donors since the Russian invasion, and Japan has significantly increased its defense spending amid concerns about China’s military assertiveness.
As part of its beefed-up defense, Japan agreed to purchase American-made Tomahawks and other long-range cruise missiles that can hit targets in China or North Korea with a more offensive security strategy. Japan, Britain and Italy also began collaborating on a next-generation fighter jet project.
Japan’s intensification on the world stage is seen within the administration as a “fundamental validation of President Biden’s Indo-Pacific strategy,” according to a senior administration official who previewed the visit for reporters.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity under White House ground rules, added that the visit will help the White House demonstrate that Japan, long seen as a key regional alliance, has turned into “if not our most important global alliance ‘. alliance, and one of the most important.”