Kishida cracks jokes and invokes ‘Star Trek’ as he and Biden toast US-Japan alliance at state dinner
WASHINGTON—Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida cracked jokes and invoked a touchstone of American culture as he quoted from “Star Trek” at Wednesday’s state dinner, telling guests at the White House that he hoped the “unshakable relationship” between his country and the U.S. would “boldly go where no one had gone before.”
“I would like to propose a toast to our voyage to the frontier of the Japan-U.S. relationship with this word: boldly go,” Kishida said, quoting the iconic opening monologue of the original “Star Trek” series.
Kishida, who spoke in English, and President Joe Biden exchanged warm toasts to each other and the decades-long, alliance between their nations as top figures from business, sports and politics—including an ex-president— looked on. The two leaders, who expressed a genuine friendship, pledged to continue to knit together their countries’ interests in the face of global challenges.
He told guests at the
White House that he hoped the “unshakable relationship” between his country and the U.S. would “boldly go where no one had gone before.”
Kishida and President Joe Biden exchanged warm toasts to each other and the close alliance between their nations as top figures from business, sports and politics looked on.
Kishida, in his toast at the dinner, enthused over the splendor.
“First and foremost, to be honest my breath is taken and I’m speechless in front of such a huge number of prominent American and Japanese guests,” he said.
Guests in bright spring colors and lots of shimmery gowns chatted politics and talked shop as they strolled in—that meant eclipse chatter from NASA Administrator Bill Nelson (“fabulous” view in Ohio!) and an assessment of Biden’s electoral prospects in Wisconsin from Gov. Tony Evers (looking good!).
Biden and Kishida expressed a genuine friendship and pledged that their countries would remain united in the face of global challenges.