Preparations Underway For Biden-Kishida White House Meeting

Japanese news outlet Kyodo has reported that the Japanese government has started preparations for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to visit the White House and hold a bilateral summit with US President Joe Biden, with January 7-9 has been tipped as a potential date.

• Kishida and Biden met in Phnoem Penh, Cambodia earlier this month at the US-ASEAN summit and, according to the White House, "the two leaders resolved to further strengthen and modernize the U.S.-Japan Alliance to address threats to the free and open Indo-Pacific."
• The meeting will be a high-profile start to a year where Japan will take a more prominent role in global diplomacy. Tokyo will assume the rotating presidency of the G7 and host a leaders' summit in Hiroshima, May 19-21.
• In August, Japan approved a significant defence spending increase which according to Bloomberg, puts Japan, "on a path to become one of the world’s top military spenders."
• Increased military spending and deepening ties with the US and Taiwan is likely to bring Japan closer to confrontation with China. A challenging year ahead for Kishida, a leader already battling low approval.