Biden, Kishida to meet at WH to announce steps to raise US-Japan ties to new level

Washington: US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida are all set to meet at the White House on Friday, which the administration officials indicated would take bilateral alliance to an altogether new level.

Being held a day after the two countries announced plans to expand their security alliance to space, the meeting is being held against the backdrop of an aggressive China posing threat to regional and global security architecture, one that has forced Tokyo to



massively expand its defence spending.

"From our perspective, the message is absolutely clear. Japan is stepping up and doing so in lockstep with the United States. Our investment in our alliances is paying huge dividends and we look forward to celebrating that tomorrow," John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council in the White House, told reporters at a news conference here on Thursday.