What Biden and Kishida Agreed To in Their Effort to Bolster Ties
What Biden and Kishida Agreed To in Their Effort to Bolster Ties - The New York Times
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What Biden and Kishida Agreed To in Their Effort to Bolster Ties
As they look to contain an increasingly aggressive China, the United States and Japan announced dozens of new agreements, including on military, economic, climate and space matters.
Biden Hosts Japan’s Prime Minister at the White House
President Biden called the United States and Japan “the closest of friends” during a welcoming ceremony for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Just a few generations ago, our two nations were locked in a devastating conflict. It would have been easy to say we remain adversaries. Instead, we made a far better choice: We became the closest of friends. Mr. Prime Minister, Mr. Kishida, welcome back to the White House.
Reporting from Washington
President Biden and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan reaffirmed on Wednesday the decades-old bond between their two countries, declaring a unity of military and economic purpose as they struggle to confront the actions of an increasingly hostile Chinese government.
Mr. Kishida’s daylong visit at the White House culminated with a lengthy joint statement from the two leaders listing dozens of new agreements. Here is a partial list of some of the major announcements.
Military cooperation
The United States and Japan announced a plan to upgrade their military command and control functions to better coordinate and work together. “More effective U.S.-Japan Alliance command and control provides strengthened deterrence and promotes a free and open Indo-Pacific,” the two leaders announced in a statement released hours after their meeting.
The two countries said they would increasingly partner to produce military equipment. “We announce our intention to explore co-production of advanced and interoperable missiles for air defense and other purposes to further bolster the Alliance deterrence posture,” the statement said.
The Biden administration said it would ask Congress for authorization to use private companies in Japan to do some repairs on U.S. naval ships. The two countries also announced that they would “explore the possibility of conducting maintenance and repair on engines of Japan-based U.S. Air Force aircrafts, including fourth-generation fighters.”
The two countries revealed that the United States, Britain and Australia, which
agreed to join forces last year to construct and deploy advanced nuclear submarines, are “considering cooperation with Japan” in the partnership, known as Aukus.
Space exploration
The two countries agreed that two Japanese astronauts would be among those to travel to the moon on future American Artemis missions. “Japan will provide and maintain a pressurized rover to support astronauts living and working on the moon, while the United States will allocate two astronaut flight opportunities to the lunar surface for Japan on future Artemis missions,” the statement said.
Japan will participate in a NASA mission known as Dragonfly, bound for the Saturn moon Titan, and collaborate on the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, a next-generation observatory.
Economic cooperation
The two countries announced several major economic deals involving private company investments, including a plan by Microsoft to invest $2.9 billion over the next two years in Japan in artificial intelligence; a $1 billion Google investment to improve digital communications infrastructure; and an investment by Toyota of nearly $8 billion for electric car battery production in Greensboro, N.C., which is expected to create 3,000 jobs.
They announced a $110 million artificial intelligence joint venture by the University of Washington, University of Tsukuba, Carnegie Mellon University and Keio University. It will be funded by Nvidia, Arm, Amazon, Microsoft and several Japanese companies.
The leaders announced the creation of the Japan Innovation Campus, which will aim to help Japanese startups in Silicon Valley, and the Global Startup Campus in Tokyo. Both projects have a goal of accelerating innovation.
Climate cooperation
The two countries pledged to work more closely to reduce the effects of climate change and to accelerate the transition to clean energy. They announced the creation of a “new high-level dialogue” on the implementation of their own domestic measures to maximize the effectiveness of their policies.
The two countries pledged to work toward modernization of power grids and to share best practices in that area.
The United States praised Japan’s move to resume nuclear power generation. “In pursuit of this vision, the United States applauds the prime minister’s plan to restart nuclear reactors to meet its 2030 decarbonization goals,” the statement said.
People-to-people ties
The two countries announced the creation of a Mineta Ambassadors Program named after
Norman Y. Mineta, a former member of Congress and transportation secretary who was the first Japanese American cabinet member. The $12 million program will involve U.S. and Japanese high school and university students.
Japan will become a full member of the U.S. Global Entry program, which allows faster clearance for people who are preapproved to travel from foreign airports into the United States with less hassle.
Michael D. Shear is a White House correspondent for The New York Times, covering President Biden and his administration. He has reported on politics for more than 30 years. More about Michael D. Shear
Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”