Japan’s Suga’Arrival of No. 1 White House’ winds? “The first meeting next month”

It was reported that US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will hold a summit meeting at the White House as early as April. If successful, Prime Minister Suga will become the first foreign leader to visit the White House since President Biden took office.

On the 7th (local time), American internet media Axios quoted a source and reported that President Biden plans to invite Prime Minister Suga to the White House next month.

In response, Kato Katsunobu, Japan’s Minister of State, said at a press conference on the morning of the 8th, “Prime Minister Suga’s visit to the United States is being adjusted as soon as possible while looking at the situation of the new coronavirus infection (Corona 19).” In the event, a specific schedule has not been set.”

After taking office, President Biden held a summit meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. However, all proceeded with burns in the aftermath of Corona 19.

Axios analyzed that the White House’s first face-to-face summit with Japan in mind was aimed at China. The aim is to highlight the importance of the US-Japan alliance and emphasize the fact that the biden administration’s foreign policy priority is the Chinese check.

The first foreign leader to visit the White House by the former Donald Trump administration was the British Prime Minister, the largest ally. At the time, British Prime Minister Theresa May visited the White House on January 27, 2017, a week after Trump took office, and held a summit meeting with former President Trump. President Trump then invited Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who visited the United States in February, to a resort in Marrakech in Florida to play golf together.

However, Axios added that there is a possibility that Prime Minister Suga’s invitation period may be slightly delayed depending on the Corona 19 situation. The White House did not make any special mention in the report.

According to the Financial Times on the 8th (local time), a video conference between the leaders of the’Quad’, a security consultative group in the United States, Japan, India, and Australia, will also be held this week. The Biden administration has repeatedly expressed its intention to use Quad as a key framework for China’s containment strategy.

Japanese media are evaluating that if the US-Japan summit closes quickly, it will be an opportunity for Prime Minister Suga, who is struggling with a decline in approval ratings. Before the inauguration of the Biden regime, the Japanese government has shown ambition to host the US-Japan summit early, saying, “You must first arrive at the White House.”

Reporter Lee Min-jung [email protected]