April 16, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga arrived in Washington on Thursday for talks with U.S. President Joe Biden meant to show the strength of the two nations’ security alliance at a time when both are concerned with China’s growing economic and military clout.

Friday’s talks will be Biden’s first face-to-face meeting with a foreign leader since he took office, and they follow four years of uncertainty for the Japan-U.S. alliance under former President Donald Trump’s administration.

Japan’s Foreign Ministry said Suga hopes to reaffirm the alliance’s “strong bond” and discuss a multinational effort to defend democratic values and counter China’s growing global influence and disputed territorial claims.

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