President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. met with Prime Minister Kishida Fumio of Japan today in Wilmington, Delaware, to advance cooperation on a range of security, economic, and diplomatic issues. The President underscored that the U.S.-Japan Alliance is the cornerstone of regional peace and prosperity, and commended the progress made in strengthening the global partnership with Japan since the Prime Minister's Official Visit to Washington, D.C., in April 2024.
The President praised the Prime Minister's visionary and courageous leadership over the past three years, which has fundamentally enhanced Japan's defense capabilities and transformed its role in the world. He thanked the Prime Minister for his resolute support for strengthening Alliance defense cooperation, including on command and control, defense industrial cooperation, and enhanced exercises and training, and for advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific region. Both leaders welcomed progress in pursing cooperation on advanced capability projects under Pillar 2 of the Australia-United Kingdom-United States (AUKUS) trilateral partnership.
The two leaders also reiterated their resolve to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and underscored their opposition to any attempts to change the status quo by force. The leaders discussed their respective diplomacy with the People's Republic of China (PRC) and their shared concerns about the PRC's coercive and destabilizing activities, including in the South China Sea. They also reaffirmed their commitment to developing and protecting critical and emerging technologies such as AI and semiconductors while increasing their resilience to economic coercion.
The leaders also discussed Japan's robust contributions to global and regional security, including through the Quad and its leadership of the G7 last year, as well as its support for the United Nations and increased humanitarian funding to meet unprecedented needs across the globe. The President welcomed the Prime Minister's principled and resolute support to Ukraine as it defends itself from Russia's brutal aggression. He also commended the Prime Minister's courage and conviction in strengthening ties with the Republic of Korea (ROK), which enabled the launch of a momentous new era of U.S.-Japan-ROK trilateral cooperation at the historic Camp David Summit in August 2023.
The two leaders committed to sustain efforts to take the U.S.-Japan Alliance to new heights and to continue standing side-by-side together as steadfast global partners.
