BIDEN PRAISES PM KISHIDA’S ‘BOLD’ LEADERSHIP
WASHINGTON >> President Joe Biden praised Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s “bold” leadership on a series of global crises as he welcomed the Japanese leader to the White House on Wednesday for wide-ranging talks that touched on the delicate security situation in the Pacific, the war in Ukraine, the Israel-Hamas conflict and more.
Kishida’s official visit, which will included a glitzy state dinner at the White House on Wednesday evening, completes the Democratic administration’s feting of the leaders of the Quad, the informal partnership among the U.S., Japan, Australia and India that the White House has focused on elevating since Biden took office. As administration officials put it, they saved the most pivotal relationship for last.
“The unbreakable alliance between Japan and the United States is the cornerstone of peace, security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and around the world,” Biden said as he welcomed Kishida to a pomp filled arrival ceremony on the White House South Lawn.
The visit also marks the realization of Japan’s transformation from regional player to that of global influencer — with senior Biden administration officials noting appreciatively there is little the U.S. does across the globe that Tokyo doesn’t support. They pointed to Japan’s eagerness to take a leading role in trying to bolster Ukraine against Russia’s invasion and with the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
“The cooperation between our countries bound together by common values and commitment has become a global one with the scope and depth covering outer space and the deep sea,” Kishida said. “Today the world faces more challenges and difficulties than ever before. Japan will join hands with our American friends and together we will lead the way in tackling the challenges of the Indo-Pacific region and the world, while tirelessly developing the relationship.”
Kishida also announced that Japan is giving 250 cherry trees to the U.S. to mark America’s coming 250th birthday in 2026.
Biden and Kishida are both confronting difficult political headwinds on the home front while trying to navigate increasingly complicated problems on the global stage. Like Biden, Kishida has been dogged by low approval ratings for much of his tenure.
Biden’s reelection effort has been shadowed by an American electorate anxious about inflation, unease among some Democrats over his handling of the Israel-Hamas war, and concerns about whether at 81 he’s too old to serve another four years. The U.S. economy got another blip of dour data on Wednesday with the government reporting that consumer inflation ticked up last month, boosted by gas, rents, auto insurance and other items.
Kishida, meanwhile, is dealing with a Japanese economy that slipped to the world’s fourth-largest after it contracted in the last quarter of 2023 and fell behind Germany. Polls in Japan show that support for Kishida, who was elected in 2021, has plunged as he deals with a political funds corruption scandal within his ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
To be certain, there are differences in the U.S.-Japan relationship. The visit comes after Biden announced last month that he opposes the planned sale of Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel of Japan. Biden argued in announcing his opposition that the U.S. needs to “maintain strong American steel companies powered by American steelworkers.”