Kishida planning to visit U.S. for talks with Biden in Jan.

The Yomiuri Shimbun

12:05 JST, November 25, 2022

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will likely visit Washington in early January for the first time since taking office and meet with U.S. President Joe Biden, it has been learned.

The Japanese government has started making preparations for Kishida’s meeting with the president, sources said.

During a Japan-U.S. summit held in Phnom Penh on Nov. 13, Kishida suggested that he visit the United States, according to several Japanese and U.S. government officials.

Biden reportedly responded positively to the idea.

Kishida intends to revise three security-related documents, including the National Security Strategy, by the end of the year as well as substantially increase defense spending.

In talks with Biden, the prime minister is expected to express his position of strengthening the U.S.-Japan alliance based on the new strategy, the sources said.