President Joe Biden and first lady Dr. Jill Biden will host Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his wife, Yuko Kishida, at the White House this April for an official state visit and state dinner, the White House announced Thursday.
“The visit will underscore the enduring strength of our alliance partnership, the unwavering U.S. commitment to Japan, and Japan’s increasing global leadership role,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement announcing the visit.
Jean-Pierre said Biden and Kishida will discuss “efforts to strengthen our political, security, economic, and people-to-people ties so that our alliance is postured to address evolving challenges and advance our shared vision for a free, open, secure, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region and world.”
The two leaders last met one-one-one during November’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco, building on a historic trilateral summit with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in August.
“This will obviously underscore the importance of our alliance with Japan and our bilateral relationship, and also all the work we’re doing together to improve and strengthen, not only our bilateral cooperation but our cooperation with Japan and other allies across the Indo-Pacific, really trying to pursue a safe and secure, prosperous Indo Pacific,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Air Force One Thursday.
April’s state dinner will mark the fifth state dinner of the Biden administration, an opportunity for the White House to treat the visiting country’s leader to pomp and circumstance with fine attention to diplomatic details.
Biden welcomed Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for a state dinner in October as the crisis in the Middle East was increasingly becoming an all-consuming focus for the…
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