When Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga steps into the Oval Office this week as the first foreign leader to meet with U.S. President Joe Biden, the top agenda item for their summit will be crystal clear: China.
Suga will meet Biden on Friday, and although the leaders’ summit is seen as the symbolic culmination of a spate of meetings between U.S. and Japanese officials highlighting the resilience of the countries' alliance, it will also serve as a chance for them to cement a unified stance on China — or at least clarify how far they’re willing to go together.
The U.S. has said that it won’t ask allies to choose sides in the growing Sino-American rivalry, but Washington is expected to use the meeting to at least nudge Tokyo in the direction of a stronger position on a number of issues involving Beijing.