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Japan says PM Suga plans to meet Biden in US next month
TOKYO, March 12, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Japan said Friday Prime Minister
Yoshihide Suga will meet President Joe Biden in the United States next month,
becoming the first foreign leader to hold face-to-face talks with him.
“If various circumstances allow, Prime Minister Suga will visit the US as
early as the first half of April,” top government spokesman Katsunobu Kato
told reporters at a daily briefing.
“With this visit, Prime Minister Suga is expected to be the first foreign
leader to hold a face-to-face meeting with President Biden,” he added.
The possibility of Suga’s visit had already been reported in Japanese and
US media, but without official confirmation.
Japanese officials have made clear that Suga would be keen to meet Biden in
person as soon as possible, to reinforce a key alliance, particularly at a
time of rising concern about China.
Kato said the summit would involve discussion about an open and free Indo-
Pacific region, coronavirus measures, and climate change.
The final schedule for the trip is still being worked out, he added.
Suga and the other members of the delegation that will travel to Washington
will all be vaccinated beforehand, Kato said.
Japan’s vaccination programme is rolling out cautiously, with just one
vaccine so far approved, with around 180,000 healthcare workers having so far
received a first dose.
Biden and Suga will speak later Friday as part of a virtual leaders summit
of members of the Quad, which groups the US, Japan, Australia and Japan.
BSS/AFP/GMR/0857 hrs