Japan’s Prime Minister Leaves to Attend Quad Meeting in U.S.; Last Trip for Kishida Before Stepping Down as Leader

The Yomiuri Shimbun
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, center, prepares to depart for the United States on a government plane from Haneda Airport in Tokyo on Saturday.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has departed for the United States for his last overseas trip as leader of the country.

Kishida is set to visit U.S. President Joe Biden’s home state of Delaware on Saturday, where his will attend the Quad Leaders Summit and hold a summit with Biden.

The Quad is an international cooperation framework comprising Japan, the United States, Australia and India.

“I will convey Japan’s thinking towards a free, peaceful and prosperous future for the world,” Kishida told reporters at the Prime Minister’s Official Residence prior to his departure from Haneda Airport.

On Sunday, Kishida will take part in the Summit of the Future, an event connected to the U.N. General Assembly, who are holding sessions in New York. On Monday, he will host the first summit-level meeting of nations that support the start of negotiations for the Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty, which prohibits the production of raw materials for nuclear weapons.

Kishida is scheduled to return to Japan on Tuesday.