Japan’s Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and US President Joe Biden have touted each other’s contributions to their countries’ bilateral ties. Kishida is leaving office soon, just months ahead of Biden’s end of term.
Biden invited Kishida to his private residence in his home state of Delaware on Saturday, where they talked for about an hour.
According to Japan’s Prime Minister’s Office, Kishida said the Japan-US alliance and cooperation are becoming increasingly important as the international order is at a historic turning point and faces new challenges.
The Japanese prime minister said Biden has made the bilateral alliance stronger than ever under his leadership.
Biden expressed his appreciation for what he called a special friendship with Kishida.
The US president commended the prime minister’s contributions to developing the two countries’ relations, and addressing the challenges faced by the international community.
Both leaders agreed on the importance of continuing to enhance the deterrence and response capabilities of the Japan-US alliance. They also reaffirmed their commitment to steadily advancing bilateral security cooperation, based on the joint statement they issued in April.
Kishida and Biden confirmed that both countries would oppose and resolutely respond to any unilateral attempts by China to change the status quo by force in the East and South China seas.
They also confirmed the importance of continuing dialogue and cooperation with China on shared challenges.
The two leaders agreed to strengthen three-way cooperation by Japan, the US and South Korea. They said Japan and the United States will continue to closely cooperate with each other in support of Ukraine, and to stabilize the current situation in the Middle East.
At the end of the meeting, Kishida and Biden, apparently looking beyond their terms in office, confirmed that their countries will continue to serve as global partners at the core of a free and open international order.