Jill Biden addresses senior graduates at the US military base in Japan

First lady Jill Biden broke away from President Joe Biden to speak to graduating high school students at a US military base in Japan on Sunday.

The first lady addressed seniors from Matthew C. Perry High School, located at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Japan’s Yamaguchi – the base where both she and the president flew into for their trip to Hiroshima for the G7 summit.

“Pump the maroon!” she exclaimed to the crowd of seniors, clad in maroon caps and gowns. When they yelled back, she said with relief, “Thank God you said that, I was worried.”

Dr. Biden also engaged in a “clap out” with the group, in which onlookers — including young children — clapped and high fived the seniors as they headed for the risers.

“You are better prepared for the future than almost anyone your age,” she told the students.

She acknowledged that it’s hard being a military kid: “Your world has never been a sitcom on black and white TV.”

Dr. Biden commented on how they experienced it: “Walking into a lunchroom and not seeing a familiar face.”

She applauded the students who decided to apply.

“I know you will continue to serve your country in your own way,” she told the others.

She ended with a poem by Walt Whitman. “I’m sure you all know,” she joked.

The first lady’s stop at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni is part of her Jointing Forces initiative, which she started with first lady Michelle Obama when she served as second lady.

She rejuvenated it when the Bidens arrived at the White House in January 2021.

Dr. Jill Biden listens to the Japanese and American national anthems at a ceremony for senior students from Matthew C. Perry High School, located at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Yamaguchi, Japan

Dr. Biden left for DC after 15 minutes of shaking hands and talking with members of the public — leaving her husband behind in Japan, as he had another meeting with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky and a press conference about his G7 schedule.

The first lady traveled separately when she stopped in Alaska for an event on her way to Japan.

For her leg of the journey, she spent mostly time with the G7 spouses.

She spent the past two days with the wife of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Akshata Murty, the wife of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Yuko Kishida, the wife of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Britta Ernst and the husband of the chairman of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, Heiko von der Leyen.

Brigitte Macron, with whom Dr. Biden did not make the trip with her husband, French President Emmanuel Macron.

Dr. Biden kicked off the three-day summit by accompanying President Joe Biden to Hiroshima’s Peace Park and Memorial Museum.

She took part in a separate wreath-laying ceremony for husbands, drank tea with the husbands and then addressed local students at the Next Generations’ Symposium on Friday evening.

First lady Jill Biden (second from left) participated in a wreath-laying ceremony along with (from left) British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s wife, Akshata Murty, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s wife, Yuko Kishida, German Chancellor’s wife Olaf Scholz, Britta Ernst and husband of the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, Heiko von der Leyen

On Saturday, the spouses took a trip to Miyajima Island and posed for photos with umbrellas at Itsukushima Shrine

The spouses watch a demonstration Saturday at Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima Island, just outside Hiroshima, Japan

“Today we gather just a stone’s throw from the monument that commemorates part of the deadliest war mankind has ever known,” she said when it was her turn to speak. “We must teach this history so that we can understand the choices before us.”

“Choose creation over destruction, innovation over inhumanity, peace over carnage, democracy over autocracy,” she continued.

She told the young people that they are ‘the builders of democracy’.

And she praised the next generation for “leading movements for change,” including “working for climate justice.”

She arrived about 10 minutes late to the event and was joined by granddaughter Maisy, who graduated from the University of Pennsylvania earlier this week.

While G7 leaders gathered at the Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima Island on Friday evening, the spouses toured the landmark on Saturday.

They did a photo shoot where they posed with umbrellas in front of the iconic floating gate.

Dr. Biden had lunch on the island with the other G7 spouses and then rejoined her husband for Friday night dinner at the Grand Prince Hotel in Hiroshima.