At their summit held during Kishida’s state visit to the United States, the first by a Japanese premier in nine years, the two leaders also confirmed they will join hands to boost defense relations and supply chains for semiconductors and other crucial products to tackle China’s regional military and economic clout.

Kishida said he reaffirmed with Biden the significance of the bilateral alliance while trying to pitch a “global partnership” between Tokyo and Washington as geopolitical tensions rise across the world amid China’s military buildup and North Korea’s nuclear and missile development.

“We are therefore working together, across all domains and at all levels, to build a global partnership that is fit for purpose to address the complex, interconnected challenges of today and tomorrow for the benefit of our two countries and the world,” the leaders said in a joint statement.

Ahead of the summit, a welcome ceremony took place at the White House. After their meeting, Kishida and Biden held a joint press conference and released statements before the president hosts an official dinner party.

Kishida and his wife Yuko on Tuesday night attended an informal dinner with Biden at a restaurant in Washington. Biden posted a picture of himself and the prime minister sharing a ride in the presidential limousine, known as “The Beast.”

Biden said at the arrival ceremony that the U.S.-Japan alliance is “truly a global partnership” for peace, security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and around the world, adding, “Now our two countries are building a stronger defense partnership.”

Kishida said Japan and the United States will “take the lead” in addressing global challenges, while looking “10 years and also 100 years ahead” in developing ties.

At the outset of their summit, which was open to the media, Biden told Kishida that the U.S.-Japan alliance has become stronger than ever in history.

Kishida said Japan and the United States are “now at the forefront” in maintaining a free and open international order, adding that the two nations are “indispensable” to each other in driving sustainable and inclusive economic growth.

On the security front, Kishida and Biden confirmed deeper cooperation between the U.S. military and Japan’s Self-Defense Forces as threats posed by China and North Korea escalate.

Japan is set to establish a joint headquarters to command its ground, maritime and air forces by the end of March 2025. The United States is arranging to strengthen the functions of its command headquarters in Japan in line with the move, government officials said.

Kishida and Biden also agreed to pave the way for jointly developing key defense equipment so the decades-old alliance between the United States and Japan can enter a new stage to underpin stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

The leaders, meanwhile, pledged to create a framework so that Japanese private companies can undertake extensive repairs of U.S. Navy warships, enabling the vessels to operate for longer without returning home for maintenance.

Japan and the United States are likely to flesh out details of the summit agreements at two-plus-two talks involving their defense and foreign ministers in the near future, the officials said.

Kishida and Biden also made a commitment to reinforce supply chains, with some democracies adversely affected by what the United States calls “economic coercion” by authoritarian countries.

In the space field, Kishida and Biden agreed on shared goals regarding the U.S.-led lunar exploration Artemis program, which could see a Japanese astronaut become the first non-American to travel to the Moon.

The post Japan, U.S. leaders vow to boost alliance on defense amid China rise appeared first on News Agency nabakhabar.

At a press conference, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi declined to elaborate on Kim Yo Jong’s statement, which was carried by North Korea’s state-run media on Thursday, citing the possible negative impact on negotiations regarding the past abductions of Japanese nationals by Pyongyang.

In the statement, Kim said a visit could happen if Tokyo does not make the issue of the abductions an obstacle between the two countries, describing it as “settled.” Hayashi said Japan will continue trying to resolve the matter with North Korea.

Hayashi, who doubles as minister in charge of the abduction issue, said her assertion regarding the abductions was “totally unacceptable,” adding that Japan will also continue to make efforts to solve other problems involving North Korea, such as its nuclear and missile development programs.

Takuya Yokota, the head of a group representing the families of Japanese abductees, also said Kim’s stance that the abduction issue is settled “cannot be accepted at all.”

But he said in a statement he would “welcome” the sister’s reference to Kishida’s possible visit to Pyongyang if it comes as a part of backdoor negotiations between Japan and North Korean governments.

“I hope the Japanese government will continue negotiations in a resolute manner, without lowering the level of its demand urging North Korea to return home all abductees at one time,” said Yokota, a younger brother of Megumi, who was abducted at age 13 in 1977.

In May 2023, Kishida made a sudden commitment to establish high-level negotiations between Japan and North Korea to pave the way for an early summit with Kim Jong Un, although he has not provided details on what kind of official talks he envisions.

North Korea, meanwhile, has used antagonistic rhetoric toward Japan, demanding that Tokyo pay post-World War II compensation. Japan colonized Korea from 1910 through the end of the war in 1945.

But Kim Jong Un sent a message of sympathy to Kishida in early January over a deadly earthquake that hit central Japan on New Year’s Day, according to North Korean state media. It is rare for a Japanese prime minister to receive a message from a North Korean leader.

In 2002, Junichiro Koizumi became the first Japanese prime minister to make a trip to Pyongyang, leading to the return of five abductees. He revisited North Korea in 2004.

Japan and North Korea have no diplomatic relations, but Koizumi signed the historic Pyongyang Declaration with the late leader Kim Jong Il, father of Kim Jong Un, on Sept. 17, 2002.

The post Japan paying attention to remarks by North Korea leader’s sister: gov’t appeared first on News Agency nabakhabar.

Kishida’s remarks came after he held talks with his French, Italian, British, Canadian and U.S. counterparts earlier this week during a weeklong trip to five of the G-7 countries in Europe and North America in the run-up to the gathering in western Japan city.

The world should “not make light of the history” in which no nuclear weapons have been used over the past 77 years, said Kishida, elected from a Hiroshima constituency, in comments at a press conference in Washington.

He added that the G-7 will confirm its commitment to upholding “the international order based on the rule of law” at the upcoming summit in the city devastated by a U.S. atomic bombing in August 1945.

On Friday, Kishida met with U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington. The two leaders agreed that Japan and the United States will deepen security ties and join hands to secure semiconductor supply chains to counter China’s economic clout in the region.

Tokyo and Washington “will try to strengthen the bilateral alliance and bolster cooperation in fields ranging from the economy to technology,” Kishida said.

He emphasized that “semiconductors are key materials for economic security,” adding that Japan will consider its approach to the issue alongside allies including the United States, with an eye on China’s rise in the Indo-Pacific region.

Kishida, however, did not elaborate on whether Japan will impose export controls on semiconductors against China, a move recently implemented by the United States.

As for Japan’s relations with its neighbors, Kishida said he has no clear plan so far to hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of the G-7 summit while vowing to maintain communication with South Korea in a bid to improve ties.

Tokyo has been at odds with Beijing over Taiwan. Japan-South Korea relations, meanwhile, soured to the worst level in decades under President Yoon Suk Yeol’s predecessor, Moon Jae In, due largely to a dispute over wartime labor.

Kishida said Japan will aim to build “constructive and stable” ties with China, but will also continue urging the country’s leadership to “take responsible action” as an Asian power.

Communist-led China and self-ruled democratic Taiwan have been governed separately since they split in 1949 as the result of a civil war. Beijing regards the island as a renegade province to be reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary.

Kishida and Biden agreed Friday to develop Japan’s defense capabilities, reaffirming the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

In December, Japan decided to almost double its defense spending over the next five years and to acquire enemy base strike capabilities to deter attacks on its territory, in the face of growing military threats from its neighbors such as China.

The Kishida administration is planning to raise taxes to finance measures for Japan’s major shift in its defense policy under the war-renouncing Constitution, which has increased public distrust of his government.

“I would like to thoroughly explain to the public through parliamentary debates with opposition parties” about the tax hikes, Kishida said.

The post Japan PM vows to pitch vision of world without nuclear weapons at G-7 appeared first on News Agency nabakhabar.