Kishida To Hold Summit Talks With Biden During Southeast Asian Tour
Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio will hold bilateral summit talks with US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of international meetings in Southeast Asia.
Kishida is scheduled to leave Japan on Friday for a tour of Cambodia, Indonesia and Thailand.
He will attend meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Cambodia, the G20 nations in Indonesia and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Thailand.
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsuno Hirokazu told reporters on Thursday what Kishida hopes to achieve in the series of meetings.
Matsuno said Kishida will deepen discussions with world leaders on pressing regional and international issues and confirm stronger cooperation with concerned countries. He said the issues include Russia's invasion of Ukraine and North Korea's ballistic missile launches, which he said are being carried out with unprecedented frequency.
Matsuno revealed that the prime minister will hold talks with Biden. Government sources say Kishida wants to confirm with Biden about strengthening the Japan-US alliance in the face of the situation in East Asia, such as China's maritime activities and North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.
Matsuno said Kishida will also hold a trilateral summit with Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol during his Southeast Asian tour. He added that Kishida will have separate talks with the leaders of Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Brunei.