Biden and Kishida reaffirm the alliance between the US and Japan in a meeting prior to the G7

May 18. (EUROPE PRESS) –

The president of the United States, Joe Biden, and the prime minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida, have reaffirmed this Thursday their common positions on issues such as the war in Ukraine, the arms challenges of North Korea or the need to achieve an Indo-Pacific “free and open”, in apparent opposition to China’s moves.

The two leaders have held a bilateral meeting prior to the start of the G7, which will bring together the heads of state and government of seven of the world’s main powers in the Japanese city of Hiroshima. In it, they stressed that “the US-Japan alliance is the cornerstone of regional peace and prosperity.”

“Japan and the United States have a strong relationship, not only in the area of ​​security, but in all areas,” Kishida told reporters, emphasizing issues such as investment in technology, for example with the development of semiconductors. The two countries plan to conclude a memorandum to foster alliances between companies and universities.

On international issues, Washington and Tokyo coincide in their condemnation of Russia’s “brutal and illegal” invasion of Ukraine and China’s “coercive behavior.” According to a White House statement, Biden and Kishida “underlined their opposition to any attempt to change the ‘status quo’ by force and reiterated their resolve to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.”

The White House National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, has ruled out on the way to the summit that Biden could take advantage of the symbolic framework of the G7, Hiroshima, to apologize on behalf of the United States for the launch of the nuclear bomb in 1945. ” It is not a bilateral moment,” argued the adviser, who has limited himself to alluding to the participation of the president in the acts of tribute to victims.