Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio is set to begin his final trip to the United States before stepping down. The four-day tour will see him attend a series of talks aimed at solidifying ties with Washington and other strategic partners.
Kishida will depart from Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on Saturday morning.
He is scheduled to hold one-on-one talks with President Joe Biden at the US leader’s private residence in Delaware.
The trip also includes a summit of the so-called Quad nations comprising Japan, the United States, Australia and India. They are expected to agree on boosting maritime security cooperation in light of China’s growing assertiveness.
And the Japanese leader will participate in the Summit of the Future underway at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Kishida plans to call for reforming the UN. He will also likely stress the importance of the rules-based international order, and promote efforts to abolish nuclear weapons.
Kishida will also meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is scheduled to be stateside at the same time. He is expected to convey Japan’s intention to maintain support for Kyiv, and sanctions against Russia.
Kishida announced last month that he will not seek re-election as leader of the Liberal Democratic Party. His successor is virtually assured of becoming prime minister, as the ruling coalition holds a majority in both chambers of the Diet.