US President Joe Biden has praised outgoing Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio for what he called “courageous leadership,” saying Kishida has transformed Japan’s role in the world.
Biden released a statement on Wednesday after Kishida announced his decision not to run in the leadership race of the main ruling Liberal Democratic Party next month.
That means Kishida will step down as prime minister.
Biden said he and the prime minister have worked together to take the US-Japan alliance “to new heights.”
The president said Kishida unveiled a “momentous new national security strategy” and strongly supported Ukraine after Russia’s invasion.
Biden also said Kishida, together with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, had taken historic steps to usher in a new era of trilateral cooperation of the US, South Korea and Japan. He said it strengthened “our collective capacity to take on common challenges.”
Biden concluded his statement by saying that thanks to the prime minister’s leadership, the future of the US-Japan alliance is stronger and brighter than ever.
He said, “Prime Minister Kishida’s courageous leadership will be remembered on both sides of the Pacific for decades to come.”