Prime Minister Fumio Kishida left for Washington on Monday, becoming Japan’s first leader to make a state visit to the United States in nine years and underscoring the increasing importance of the alliance between the two countries.
During his stay in the United States, Kishida is scheduled to hold a summit with President Joe Biden on Wednesday in Washington and will address a joint session of the U.S. Congress the following day, according to Japanese government officials.
Kishida, who is slated to return to Tokyo on Sunday, is expected to reaffirm with Biden the significance of Japan-U.S. cooperation in various areas ranging from security and state-of-the-art technologies to the strengthening of supply chains, the officials said.
“I would like to confirm that Japan and the United States have built a more solid relationship, and it will be an important opportunity to convey this message to the world,” Kishida told reporters before his departure from Tokyo.
Kishida has said that his state visit to the United States will help bolster the bilateral alliance, and he is to become Japan’s first prime minister to deliver a speech at the U.S. Congress since Shinzo Abe, who did so in April 2015.
