Politics & Government

Japan, U.S. to Set Up Prime Minister Fumio Kishida State Visit to United States in March

REUTERS/Molly Riley/File Photo
The White House is seen from the top of the Washington Monument.

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:58 JST, December 26, 2023

The Japanese and U.S. governments are working on arrangements for an official visit by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to the United States in early March, it has been learned.

The final details of the visit will be decided, taking into account factors such as Japan’s political circumstances — including Diet sessions — as well as key dates for the 2024 U.S. presidential election and the U.S. Congress calendar.

If the plan comes to fruition, it will be the first official visit by a Japanese leader to the United States since former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe traveled there in 2015.

Kishida also plans to deliver a speech in front of the U.S. Congress, emphasizing a deepening of the Japan-U.S. alliance at home and abroad, and plans to appeal for cooperation across a wide range of fields such as economic security, outer space and cyberspace.

When Kishida met with U.S. President Joe Biden in the United States in November, when he also received an invitation for an official visit there for early next year.