In his first visit to Washington as prime minister, Fumio Kishida secured a ringing endorsement from U.S. President Joe Biden for Tokyo’s “bold leadership” in fundamentally reinforcing its defense capabilities amid growing challenges from China, North Korea and Russia.
Kishida’s meeting with Biden at the White House on Friday was a victory lap for the Japanese leader, with the two formally setting in stone the course for the U.S.-Japan alliance for the coming years.
“We’re modernizing our military alliance, building on Japan’s historic increase in defense spending and new National Security Strategy,” Biden said as the two leaders met. “Let me be crystal clear: The United States is fully, thoroughly, completely committed to the alliance and, more importantly, to ... the defense of Japan.”