Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga arrived in the United States on Thursday to attend a summit with U.S. President Joe Biden and the leaders of India and Australia in Washington, marking his final overseas trip before his tenure as prime minister ends in early October.
The leaders of the "Quad" are expected to affirm shared efforts to realize a free and open Indo-Pacific region as well as ensure a stable supply of COVID-19 vaccines to the rest of the world.
"We will discuss vaccines, new technologies and climate change among other issues and continue seeking a way toward realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific," Suga told reporters before boarding his flight at Tokyo's Haneda airport.