Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has arrived in the United States to join the NATO summit in Washington.
Kishida’s plane landed at an air force base near the capital on Wednesday.
He’ll take part in the summit on Thursday as the leader of a NATO partner country in the Indo-Pacific, along with South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
Soon after his arrival, Kishida met with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol. Details of their talks were not immediately known, but they were expected to agree that Tokyo and Seoul will further improve ties.
Kishida hopes to deepen ties with NATO members and other countries as he sees the security of Europe and Asia as inseparable, considering moves by Russia and China.
Kishida hopes strengthening those ties will also contribute to peace and stability around Japan.