Japan-United States of America Relations
Breakfast Meeting between Prime Minister Kishida and U.S. Vice President Harris
January 13, 2023
(Photo: Cabinet Public Affairs Office)
(Photo: Cabinet Public Affairs Office)
On January 13, commencing at 10 a.m. (12 a.m. on January 14, Japan time), for approximately 60 minutes, Mr. KISHIDA Fumio, Prime Minister of Japan, who is visiting Washington, D.C., exchanged views over breakfast with the Honorable Kamala Harris, Vice President of the United States of America, at her invitation at the official residence of the Vice President. The overview of the meeting is as follows.
- At the outset, Prime Minister Kishida stated that he is visiting Washington, D.C. for the first time as Prime Minister and expressed his appreciation for the invitation to the breakfast meeting, which will be the first official event of the visit. In response, Vice President Harris welcomed Prime Minister Kishida’s visit to the U.S. and stated that it is her pleasure to see him again following her visit to Japan last September and the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Bangkok last November.
- Prime Minister Kishida stated that as Japan and the U.S. face the most severe and complex security environment in recent years, Japan will fundamentally reinforce its defense capabilities, including the possession of counterstrike capabilities, based on the new National Security Strategy and other documents released last December, and gained full support from Vice President Harris. The two sides then concurred on the importance of further strengthening the deterrence and response capabilities of the Japan-U.S. Alliance, and confirmed to continue close coordination between Japan and the U.S. to realize a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP).”
- The two sides exchanged views on regional issues, including China and North Korea and concurred on continuing to work closely together. Prime Minister Kishida also asked for continued understanding and cooperation from the U.S. for the immediate resolution of the abductions issue, and once again gained full support from Vice President Harris.
- The two sides welcomed the recent conclusion of the negotiations over the “Framework Agreement between Japan and the United States of America for Cooperation in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space” and its signing on January 13. They also concurred on promoting Japan-U.S. cooperation in the area of outer space, including efforts on space security based on Japan’s National Security Strategy and the exchanges at the Japan-U.S. Security Consultative Committee (“2+2”) on January 11.
- The two sides concurred that, with Japan holding the G7 Presidency and the United States holding the APEC Chair this year, Japan and the U.S. will leverage such momentum to continue to lead the international community to maintain and develop the free and open international order based on the rule of law.