Biden, Kishida to discuss Japan ‘stepping up’ security | NASCAR & Racing News

The Oval Office meeting and signing ceremony at NASA’s Washington headquarters will cap a weeklong tour for Kishida that has taken him to five European and North American capitals for talks on his effort to bolster Japan’s security.

It all comes as Japan announced plans last month to raise defense spending to 2% of gross domestic product in five years, a dramatic increase in spending for a nation that forged a pacifist approach to its defense after World War II. . Japan’s defense spending has historically remained below 1% of GDP.

John Kirby, spokesman for the White House’s National Security Council, said, “Japan is stepping up and doing so in step with the United States.

Earlier this week, Blinken said the US-Japan space cooperation framework was a “decade in the making” and “covers everything from joint research to working together to land the first woman and person of color on the moon.”

He added that the US and Japan agree that China is their “biggest shared strategic challenge” and confirmed that an attack in space would trigger a mutual defense provision in the US-Japan security treaty.

Ahead of Friday’s meeting of the two leaders, US and Japanese officials announced an adjustment to the US troop presence on the island of Okinawa, in part to improve anti-ship capabilities that would be needed in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan or other hostile acts in the region. Japan is also strengthening defenses on its southwestern islands near Taiwan, including Yonaguni and Ishigaki, where new bases are being built.

Japan’s push to increase defense spending and coordination comes amid growing concerns that China may take military action to seize Taiwan and worries that North Korea’s uptick in missile testing could portend the isolated nation to achieve its nuclear ambitions.

The talks with Biden “will be a precious opportunity to confirm our close cooperation to further strengthen the Japan-US alliance and our joint pursuit of a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Kishida told reporters. just before he leaves Japan for his five country. tour.

His sit-down with Biden is the final face-to-face in a week of talks with fellow Group of Seven leaders that have largely focused on his efforts to increase Japan’s defense spending and urge leaders to improve cooperation.

Kishida also discussed with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and French President Emmanuel Macron his hope to improve security cooperation between Japan and their respective nations. Germany was the only G-7 country not on Kishida’s itinerary.

Japan last month announced plans to buy US-made Tomahawks and other long-range cruise missiles that could hit targets in China or North Korea under a more offensive security strategy, while Japan, Britain and Italy unveiled plans to work together on ‘ a next generation jet fighter project.

“Just a few years ago, there would have been some discomfort in Washington with a Japan that had this kind of military capability,” said Chris Johnstone, a former National Security Council official in the Biden administration who now serves as the Japanese chairman at the center is. for Strategic and International Studies. “Those days are over.”

Biden administration officials praised Japan for acting in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Japan was quick to join the US and other Western allies in imposing aggressive sanctions against Moscow, and Japanese carmakers Mazda, Toyota and Nissan announced their withdrawal from Russia.

Biden administration officials have been pleasantly surprised by Japan’s stepped-up effort to rethink its security.

A senior administration official, who requested anonymity to discuss negotiations with the Japanese, noted that historically, negotiations involving U.S. power positions in Okinawa were “incredibly fraught, incredibly challenging and difficult” and often took years to complete. But negotiations before this week’s meetings were completed with remarkable speed, the official said.

The official said that Biden is expected to raise the matter of Lt. Ridge Alkonis, a US Navy officer deployed to Japan who was jailed after pleading guilty last year to the negligent driving deaths of two Japanese nationals in May 2021.

Alkonis’ family says he suddenly fell unconscious behind the wheel during a family trip to Mount Fuji. He drove into parked cars and pedestrians in a parking lot, hitting an elderly woman and her son-in-law, both of whom later died.

The naval officer was sentenced to three years in prison in October, a sentence that the family and US lawmakers called excessively harsh given the circumstances. Alkonis also agreed to pay the victims $1.65 million in restitution.

The official added that the administration is working “to find a compassionate resolution consistent with the rule of law.”

Kishida was scheduled to meet with Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday before his meeting with Biden.

___ Associated Press writers Tracy Brown in Washington and Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.