Politics & Government

Biden to visit Japan in May

AP
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks in the White House in Washington on Wednesday.

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:50 JST, April 28, 2022

U.S. President Joe Biden will visit Japan on May 22-24, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said Thursday.

Biden plans to have his first formal in-person meeting with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on May 23. The following day, he will participate in a Japan-hosted summit of the Quad, a framework for cooperation among Japan, the United States, Australia and India.

This will be Biden’s first visit to Japan since he took office.

Kishida and Biden are expected to discuss such issues as measures against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and responses to China’s increasingly hegemonic actions.

“We hope the visit will be an opportunity to confirm our close bilateral cooperation on all fronts, including deepening the Japan-U.S. alliance and realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Matsuno said at a press conference.

The White House also announced that Biden would visit Japan and South Korea on May 20-24. In South Korea, the U.S. president is scheduled to meet with newly elected President Yoon Suk-yeol, who will assume office on May 10.