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National Security Council

Via Teleconference

(April 10, 2024)

3:05 P.M. EDT

MODERATOR:  Thank you.  And thank you all for joining today’s background call to preview the bilateral meeting of President Biden and President Marcos of the Philippines and the historic trilateral summit of the U.S., Japan, and the Philippines. 

As a reminder, today’s call is on background, attributed to senior administration officials.  The call is also held under embargo until 5:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time tomorrow. 

By participating in today’s call, you are also agreeing to these ground rules. 

On today’s call, we have [senior administration official].  And I will now turn the call over to [senior administration official] to kick us off.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Thank you so much.  And thanks to all for joining us this afternoon.  I’m also pleased to be joined here in the room by several of my colleagues who’ve been formative to the preparations of both the bilateral meeting between the President and President Marcos and the first-ever trilateral U.S.-Philippines-Japan leaders’ summit that will take place tomorrow.  So you may also hear the voices of [senior administration officials] alongside me as we work through what we have to share with you today. 

As you all know, we just concluded the meetings portion of the official visit with state dinner, during which the President is hosting Prime Minister Kishida of Japan here at the White House for nearly their dozenth meeting in the last two and a half years since Prime Minister Kishida took office.  And at that visit, we announced a number of extremely consequential deliverables, ranging from the defense space to civil space to critical and emerging technologies, critical infrastructure, and people-to-people ties. 

But this is really just kicking off what we see as a tremendous week for us and for the President’s Indo-Pacific strategy here at the White House.  Because tomorrow we will also be welcoming President Marcos of the Philippines and holding, as I said, the first-ever trilateral leaders’ summit between the Philippines, the United States, and Japan. 

Since the start of this administration, President Biden has, of course, prioritized the reinvigoration of the United States’ greatest strength: our network of alliances and partnerships.  And in our view, there is nowhere that this strategy has yielded more success and bigger results than in the Indo-Pacific. 

Today, you saw our Japanese allies consistently standing up and stepping up alongside us to modernize the alliance in ways that would have seemed impossible just three years ago.  And tomorrow, you will see another longstanding ally in the Indo-Pacific stepping up in a big way, who is now more closely coordinated than ever with the United States, and that is President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. 

He’ll be here for the second visit to D.C. in just two years’ time.  And this is the seventh meeting with either President Biden or Vice President Harris, which is a sign of the very close relationship that we have built with President Marcos.

Our alliance with the Philippines is the oldest in the Indo-Pacific and has never been stronger, with deep people-to-people ties at its foundation.  And that, of course, includes the more than 4 million Filipino Americans who live in the United States and 400,000 Americans who live in or are visiting the Philippines at any given time. 

Under President Biden and President Marcos, we’ve modernized the alliance to meet emerging opportunities and challenges.  And our defense and security ties continue to serve as a cornerstone of that alliance.  And in particular, we’ve added four new sites under the Enhanced Cooperation Defense Agreement and provided an additional $100 million in foreign military financing for the Philippines. 

We’re also working together in a range of areas from economic growth to energy security to critical and emerging technologies to secure connectivity.  And you’ll see all of those areas on display tomorrow. 

But beyond the bilateral relationship, we are also excited to launch at the leader level, for the first time, a brand-new format, and that is the trilateral that includes our friends in Japan.  That trilateral met for the first time at the national security advisor level last year, and our leaders are now taking it to new heights.  And you’ll see there a huge amount of work on display that covers areas ranging from energy security to infrastructure to critical and emerging technologies to maritime security.  And we’re excited for all that we’ll be able to share in those spaces.

Amongst the priority of deliverables that we’ll be unveiling tomorrow — which, as Michael noted, are embargoed until 5:00 a.m. in the morning tomorrow — we’ll be announcing an important set of new infrastructure projects known as the PGI Luzon corridor, the first-ever PGI corridor in the Indo-Pacific, which will connect Subic Bay, Clark, Manila, and Batangas in the Philippines to accelerate coordinated investments in high-impact infrastructure projects, including ports, rail, clean energy, semiconductors, supply chains, and other forms of connectivity in the Philippines. 

We will be holding events and setting up a steering committee to accelerate the work on this Luzon corridor, and the Development Finance Corporation will open its first regional office in the Philippines as part of this announcement. 

Second, we’ll be making announcements in the space of Open Radio Access Network technology, where the U.S. and Japan, both governments and industry, will be providing millions of dollars in funding for O-RAN field trials and the support of an Asia O-RAN Academy in Manila to enable future commercial deployment.  And we’re working closely with the government of the Philippines to ensure that we can partner as a trilateral grouping to deploy secure, trusted ICT technology in the Philippines. 

Earlier this week, you saw an important step in a coordinated Australia-Japan-Philippines-U.S. maritime cooperative activity.  We held a joint sail in the South China Sea, of course in a moment where the Philippines is facing enormous pressure from the PRC in that part of the region. 

And you’ll see us making further announcements tomorrow with respect to our coast guard cooperation, our cooperation on the humanitarian assistance and disaster relief space, and in our military cooperation and capacity building.

All in all, particularly at this moment when, as I mentioned, President Marcos is coming under pressure from the PRC’s aggressive tactics in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, what you’ll see is a clear demonstration of support and resolve from both President Biden and Prime Minister Kishida that we stand shoulder to shoulder with Marcos, ready to support and work with the Philippines at every turn.

I’ll hand to my colleague to say just a bit about what you can expect in the bilateral space from the President’s meeting with Marcos.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Thanks.  I’m happy to add a bit on that. 

So, President Biden and President Marcos will meet tomorrow.  They’ll discuss initiatives to enhance economic and energy security, bolster maritime cooperation, invest in critical infrastructure, and deepen people-to-people ties. 

President Biden will also reinforce the ironclad U.S. alliance commitments to the Philippines.  And the two leaders will also discuss their shared commitment to democratic values, including respect for human rights and internationally recognized labor rights. 

Now, this is the second time that President Marcos has been to the White House in his many years.  And the two presidents will mark the unprecedented strength of the alliance between the United States and the Philippines, and underscore the historic achievements in bilateral relations since they last met at the White House in May 2023. 

In addition to some of the deliverables that [senior administration official] mentioned, I wanted just to add a few. You’ll see several U.S. companies announcing new investments in the Philippines tomorrow, including areas in undersea cables, logistics, clean energy, and also telecommunications. 

You’ll also see some new announcements related to humanitarian assistance and disaster response, specifically located around the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement sites that [senior administration official] mentioned.  Including over the next year, you’ll see USAID in partnership with DOD launching a new initiative to pre-position humanitarian relief commodities for Philippine civilian disaster response authorities at EDCA sites. 

In addition, you’ll see us working together to invest in people-to-people ties, and you’ll also see us do more on clean energy and critical infrastructure, especially the new initiative under the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment that [senior administration official] mentioned.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  With that, we look forward to taking your questions. 

MODERATOR:  Thank you, Moderator.  I think we’re ready to go into the Q&A portion.

OPERATOR:  Let’s go to our first caller.  Please go ahead.

MODERATOR:  Could you say the name of the person who’s going to ask the question?

OPERATOR:  Sure.  It’s Michelle Jamrisko from Bloomberg.

Q    Hi, everyone.  Thanks for doing this.  Just wanted to go off something Jake Sullivan said yesterday and we’ve heard from other U.S. officials as well, talking a lot about U.S. efforts to modernize the alliances and bringing in non-traditional allies.  So I’m wondering if you see the trilateral tomorrow as a sort of launching board for having other partners across Asia kind of join these sorts of formats.  And if so, who would be on that target list?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Hey, Michelle.  I’m happy to take that one. 

You know, I think we see less that we are necessarily going to continue to expand ad infinitum any given trilat and more that each of these individual partnerships add some very special sauce to the broader mix of what National Security Advisor Sullivan has called an overlapping latticework of mutually reinforcing partnerships in the Indo-Pacific. 

So you might think about the fact that, of course, we have a number of strong bilateral alliances like the one you saw on display with Japan today.  We’ve got more innovative groupings, like the Quad, which the President and National Security Advisor Sullivan raised to the leader level early in this administration.  You’ve got AUKUS, which is a newer innovation also during this administration.  And now we’ve got a number of strong trilateral relationships, including the U.S.-ROK-Japan partnership, which the President took to new heights at Camp David, and now this trilat with the Philippines. 

So we don’t necessarily see that each one of these partnerships needs to expand further, but rather, each one needs to serve its purpose.  And part of what we’re excited about with tomorrow’s visit is that we do think there is a very clear purpose and a very clear agenda guiding this trilat.

OPERATOR:  Okay, moving on to Trevor Hunnicutt from Reuters.

Q    Hey.  Thanks so much for taking the question.  So will the President give a commitment to Marcos as far as the U.S. being involved in any defense that needs to happen around the Second Thomas Shoal?

And then, out of the outcomes of this meeting, should we expect trilateral joint military training, defense capacity building for the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and anything on maritime domain awareness?  Thanks.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Hey, Trevor.  I’ll kick off and pass to [senior administration official]. 

The President’s commitment to the Philippines and to President Marcos on South China Sea issues has been quite clear.  He has repeated many times that the U.S.-Philippines mutual defense treaty applies to the South China Sea, including Philippines’ vessels that may be underway there, including its coast guard vessels. 

So I think our declaratory policy, again, is crystal clear and has been consistent throughout this administration and, needless to say, has also held on a bipartisan basis.  And the Philippines is confident in that commitment.

When it comes to the maritime activities that you might see coming out of this, I’ll pass to [senior administration official].

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Thanks.  Just to add on top of the comments you already made: Over this past weekend, the United States, Japan, the Philippines, and Australia held a joint naval patrol in the Philippines’ EEZ.  I think as National Security Advisor Sullivan said yesterday, you can expect to see more of that in the months ahead. 

On top of that, we will be announcing tomorrow an upcoming coast guard joint patrol that will be taking place in the coming year in the Indo-Pacific.  That builds on the first trilateral U.S.-Japan-Philippines coast guard patrol that was held over the past year.  The U.S. Coast Guard will also welcome Philippine and Japan coast guard members onto a U.S. Coast Guard vessel during the patrol in the Indo-Pacific this year to further train and synchronize our work together. 

And I think you can expect to see further announcements tomorrow around trilateral maritime training activities, including around Japan, and a trilateral humanitarian assistance and disaster response exercise to take place over the coming year as well.

OPERATOR:  Okay, moving on to Patsy Widakuswara.

Q    Thank you for taking my call.  Just to follow up on Trevor’s question: Do we have a clear guideline of which type of gray zone tactics are covered by the U.S.-Philippines mutual defense treaty?

And then, if I may just ask for some clarity on what the President said earlier, where Japan, the U.S., and Australia will create a network of air, missile, and defense system.  Do we have a timeline of that initiative?  Thanks. 

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  I’m happy to take that one.  You know, the U.S.-Philippines mutual defense treaty extends to armed attacks on Philippines Armed Forces, public vessels, or aircraft.  And as I mentioned earlier, that includes its coast guard, and that includes anywhere in the South China Sea. 

So that’s the text of the treaty that governs our alliance.  It is quite similar to the text of other treaties that support U.S. alliances around the world. 

And obviously, we continue to coordinate very closely the question of China’s so-called gray zone tactics, its coercive tactics, and what the implications of those might be.

On the question of the air and missile defense integrated networks: As the President mentioned earlier, this is a deliverable out of the Japan state visit which also includes Australia.  What we announced today is really a vision for a coordinated network of radars and sensors that will better integrate our ballistic and air defense capabilities around the Indo-Pacific.  And it’s probably a few years off that will involve considerable work amongst our three countries.  But we don’t have a framework for how we will pursue it, as well as a strong mutual commitment amongst these countries if this is something we want to accomplish together.

OPERATOR:  Okay, moving on to Morgan Chalfant from Semafor.

Q    Thanks so much for doing this.  I just had two questions.  First, on the announcements of investments in the Philippines and undersea cables and telecom, can you say which companies are making those?  And then also, I was wondering if there’s a specific timeline for the PGII corridor you mentioned.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  So, on the secure connectivity piece, I think you mentioned a few different projects.  The first one you may have mentioned is a submarine cable project, which is an investment that was announced at the Japan state visit today.  That involves our Japanese friends plugging into an ongoing sub-cable project that is led by Google in the South Pacific.  The United States and Australia are already invested in that project, and we’re very gratified that the Japanese have decided to join us.

When it comes to PGI, you know, we do expect it will take some time for the full suite of investments that we’ve envisioned here to come to pass.  But as I mentioned, we’re standing up a steering committee of high-level U.S., Philippines, and Japanese government officials to ensure that we are steering private sector investment to exactly the types of projects that this corridor needs to improve, as well as bringing a full suite of U.S. government tools to bear. 

Again, as I mentioned earlier, the U.S. Development Finance Corporation will be standing up an office in the Philippines to help to steer this work.  And the U.S. Trade and Development Agency has announced a number of new activities in the Philippines that will help to support it as well. 

In addition to all of this, you may be tracking that Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo recently led a presidential trade and investment mission to the Philippines, which announced more than $1 billion in combined investments to promote the Philippines’ innovation economy, clean energy transition, and supply chain resilience. 

So, suffice it to say that we take very seriously all of the work that we’re doing in the Philippines.  There will also be a number of announcements tomorrow by way of private sector investment in the Philippines that we’ll be announcing anew, and those will come from Meta, UPS, GreenFire Energy, and Astranis telecommunications satellites.

OPERATOR:  Okay, moving on to Michael Shear, New York Times.

Q    Hi there.  Thanks, guys.  I appreciate it.  Just wanted to follow up on the so-called gray zone (inaudible) that China has been launching against the Philippine ships.  Will that subject — do you intend that subject to come up during the bilateral or trilateral talks tomorrow?  And is there anything the United States can do or is planning on suggesting or talking about in order to try to mitigate those attacks, since they appear to be, by default, just below the level of what would trigger the (inaudible)?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Yeah, thanks, Michael, for your question.  So, we absolutely expect the South China Sea to come up in tomorrow’s trilateral meeting.  It is one of the reasons for the meeting, because we are very concerned about what we’ve been seeing. 

We consistently condemn the use of coercive and unlawful tactics in the South China Sea every time they occur.  We do so via public statement and diplomatically.  There’s a strong record of U.S. statements on this issue, particularly in the last several months since the Philippines has been under increasing pressure. 

You will also see in our trilateral joint statement some very strong language on our unity on the South China Sea.  And that language will make very clear that we have a combined position that supports the Philippines’ lawful operations and rights in the South China Sea and in particular in its own exclusive economic zone.  So we will be quite unified in that position. 

Additionally, you know, many of the deliverables that we started to preview for you here today — whether that’s the recent joint sail that we just conducted on a quadrilateral basis in the South China Sea, the coast guard cooperation we’ll be undertaking, or new military exercises that we may conduct together — these are all intended to boost our cooperative capacity and, in particular, to make sure that our friends in the Philippines have the capacity that they need to be able to uphold international law in the South China Sea. 

So this is a very common theme, if not a pillar, of tomorrow’s trilateral meeting.  And we’re really looking forward not only to making good progress as a trilat in private, but to announce publicly our next steps in support for the Philippines.

OPERATOR:  Our next caller, Phelim Kine, Politico.

Q    Good afternoon.  Yeah, just a quick follow-up on the Second Thomas Shoal issue, and that is that China is turning a deaf ear to all of the Biden administration’s protests about its behavior there.  What we’re seeing is we see the State Department issue kind of like a template press release, saying they should stop this; we have a mutual defense treaty.  And Beijing isn’t just responding; they’re actually amping up the pressure on the Philippines in terms of the intensity and the aggression of its response. 

So, I guess, two-part question.  What are you hearing from China, from Beijing, in terms of why they’re pushing this at the Second Thomas Shoal at a time of a wider, quote, unquote, “stabilization” of the bilateral relationship?

And number two, what exactly can the U.S. do with Japan or with others to kind of make China back down or turn away?  Thank you. 

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Thanks.  I’m not going to interpret the Chinese government’s motivation for its use of coercive tactics at this time.  We’ll simply say that all of the international law in this space is very clear that the Philippines is lawfully operating in its own exclusive economic zone, and there’s really no question about that. 

To your question about, you know, what can we do beyond continuing to issue statements, I would note, first and foremost, that while, of course, it is very unfortunate that the PRC has continued to use coercive tactics, we do see that every time it does, an increasing number of supporters come out to stand behind international law in the Philippines.  I believe that the last time there was an interdiction of a Philippines routine resupply effort, as many as almost two dozen countries came out with both (inaudible) support. 

But of course, we raise this diplomatically in private, including at the highest level all the time, including the President raised this with Xi Jinping when they last spoke and not only reiterated our alliance commitments, which are crystal clear, but made clear his concern about PRC actions around Second Thomas Shoal.

But finally, the point that I’ll make — and you asked the question of what more can the U.S. do — the United States can invite President Marcos to the White House tomorrow for a bilateral meeting and a trilateral leaders’ summit for the first time ever.  This is very clearly a purposeful signal of support and resolve to Marcos.  There will be a lot of discussions, again, that take place on this in private.  But this is an invitation to the President — from the President to a close ally that is intended to signal very clearly that we support the Philippines at this difficult moment.

OPERATOR:  Our next caller, Ken Moriyasu, Nikkei Asia.

Q    Thank you very much.  On the humanitarian assistance and disaster relief hub, I believe there was a similar proposal in the factsheet of the U.S.-Japan (inaudible).  Are they similar things?

On the Philippines one, I think you said it will be placed on the EDCA sites.  Does that mean they’re going to be on all nine bases or just a few of them?  And does this also mean that, in the Japanese case, they will be based on U.S. bases in Japan as well?  Thank you.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Sure, thanks.  Happy to take that. 

I mean, our main point here is that these additional four EDCA sites that we and the Philippines agreed on when President Marcos was here last year really demonstrate the value of U.S. military and Philippine cooperation at these sites and elsewhere. 

And the main point of these EDCA sites is to do a few things.  One is to help the military modernization of the Philippines, is to increase coordination between our two militaries and increase interoperability, and then it’s also to help facilitate humanitarian assistance and disaster response. 

The Philippine government, of course, has done a lot in this area.  We’ve been working with them quite extensively over many years.  What I had mentioned before is that, over the next year, USAID will be launching a new initiative to pre-position humanitarian relief commodities.  I won’t get into which specific sites those will be located, but the intent of those commodities is to assist Philippine civilian disaster response efforts and to ensure that disaster response can get to Philippine citizens when it’s needed most.

OPERATOR:  Okay, let’s move on to Tetsuo Shintomi, Kyodo News.

Q    Hi.  Thank you for taking my question.  When the national security advisors of three countries had a meeting last year in Tokyo, they reiterated the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.  And they also discussed on East China Sea, on North Korea, according to the readout. 

So will the three leaders’ discussion go beyond South China Sea?  Will they also discuss on Taiwan Strait or even broader region, including East China Sea and DPRK?  Thank you very much.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Thank you very much.  We fully expect that the three leaders will cover the full gamut of Indo-Pacific security topics, including, of course, South China Sea, East China Sea, peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, and the threat posed by the DPRK’s illicit nuclear and missile program.  

And one of the things that I think binds this group of leaders together is they are very — have a common outlook as maritime democracies who see much of the challenges in the Indo-Pacific in the same ways. 

So one of the strong bonds between them is not only their assessment of the risks that are posed in all four of these situations, but their belief that common cooperation can help to inject stability in all of these areas.  So I know that President Biden is looking forward to those conversations.

OPERATOR:  All right, and that brings us to the end of our Q&A.  I’ll turn it back over to Michael Feldman.  Please go ahead.

MODERATOR:  Great.  Thank you all for joining today.  I will just pass it to [senior administration official] for some closing remarks.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Thanks so much, Michael.  And thanks for a great set of questions. 

I’ll just reiterate that while, of course, you know, we are very proud of the work that we have done over the course of the last three years here at the White House and on the Indo-Pacific team, we really do think this week is a special one, in particular coming on the back of a successful U.S.-Japan state visit where we’ve unveiled a number of new alliance initiatives. 

The innovation of bringing this trilateral to the leader level for the first time is a significant one.  And while a number of your questions today have been related to the maritime space and rightful concerns about the South China Sea, which we deeply share, part of what we’ll also have on display tomorrow is a number of new initiatives related to economic security, demonstrating that, together, the United States, Japan, and the Philippines can deliver energy security, can deliver secure connectivity, can deliver high-quality, high-standard investments that are good for the people of the Indo-Pacific. 

So we’re really going to be showcasing a new form of cooperation at the highest levels, and we look forward to being able to share the details with you soon. 

Thanks for joining today. 

MODERATOR:  Great.  And thank you all for joining.  As a reminder, today’s call is on background, attributed to senior administration officials, and it is under embargo for 5:00 a.m.  Eastern Standard Time tomorrow. 

Feel free to reach out to the NSC press team if you have any questions.  Thank you and have a great day.

3:33 P.M. EDT

The post Background Press Call Previewing the Bilateral Meeting of President Biden and President Marcos of the Philippines and the Trilateral Leaders’ Summit appeared first on The White House.

East Room

8:06 P.M. EDT

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  Tonight, we celebrate the alliance between Japan and the United States.

And Jill and I are honored to have you all here, including so many members of the Japanese-American community.  And we’d like to extend a particular welcome to President Clinton and Secretary Clinton, who’ve joined us this evening.  (Applause.)

Mr. Prime Minister, Mrs. Kishida — Kishida, thank you for looking forward to this visit for a while.  We’ve been anxious for you to come.  I’m delighted you’re here.  And, you know, even the cherry blossom bloomed early in anticipation of your — (laughter).  Well, they did, by the way.  They really did.

And all of us — as you all know, those blossoms are the first sign of spring has arrived, and they remind us that we can begin anew every year and tomorrow can be a better day than today. It’s a symbol of both our countries — what h- — what b- — what both our countries hold dear: new beginnings.

So, thank you, again, for being here. 

And a few days after my inauguration over three years ago, I received a big, shiny, blue-and-red envelope covered with stickers on the envelope.  It was a big envelope.  And it was full of letters from an elementary school teacher in Japan who compiled them from her students.  She teaches children who stutter, like I did as a child.  And she wanted th- — me to know that when she told them — her class about — that I had a similar liability at the time, the kids lit up, smiling, and they said, “We’re the same.  We’re the same.”

Well, we are the same, Japan and the United States.  Many — we may be divided by distance, but the — generations after generation, we’ve been brought together — the same hopes, the same values, the same commitment to democracy and freedom and to dig- — dignity for all. 

And today, without question, our alliance is literally stronger than it has even been.  This was both not inevitable, but it was also — the fact is that both the Prime Minister and I came of age as our countries were — as they came together.  We both remember the choices that were made to forge a friendship that were once only a devastating — a fight that existed before.

We both remember that hard work, what it has done to find healing, and where there was once such hardship.  We both remember Japanese and American people who not only brought us together but who brought us forward, transforming our relationship for better — from bitter foes to the best friends we could be.

Tonight, we pledge to keep going.  We stand at an inflection point where the decisions we make now are going to determine the course of the future for decades to come, a future that the kids of our two families and children in all of our two countries will remember. 

But I also know that Japan and the United States stand together — and everyone should know that as well — committed to each other and committed to keeping — building a future worthy of the highest hopes and — that — of our predecessors and our people have dreamed of.

Ladies and gentlemen, so please join me in raising your glass — and I don’t have a glass.  Neither do you.  (Laughter.)

(An aide brings glasses for the President and Prime Minister.)

There you go.  Do you have one for the Prime Minister?

PRIME MINISTER KISHIDA:  Thank you.

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  Join me in raising your glasses to our alliance, to our friendship, and, in the words of those young students in Japan, to the same future we share.  Cheers.

(President Biden offers a toast.)

AUDIENCE:  Cheers.

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  I turn it over to you, Mr. Prime Minister.

Thank you.

Mr. Prime Minister.

PRIME MINISTER KISHIDA:  Thank you. 

Mr. President, Dr. Biden, distinguished guests, and ladies and gentlemen, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to you for hosting such a wonderful dinner and your warm welcome and hospitality.

Before I came here, my protocol staff told me that no one had ever complained that my speech was too short.  (Laughter.)  This is probably good advice.  So, I’ll keep my speech short.  (Laughter.)

First and foremost, to be honest, my breath is taken and I’m speechless in front of such a huge number of prominent American and Japanese guests.  My wife, Yuko, also left breathless, just told me that it was hard to tell who the guest of honor is.  (Laughter.)  So, I was relieved when I was shown the seat right next to the President.  (Laughter.)

Last year, President Biden and Dr. Biden visited my hometown of Hiroshima to attend the G7 summit meeting.  It is a little-known fact that the largest number of Japanese immigrants to the United States came from Hiroshima.  Many Hiroshimans headed to the United States to seek a new world, a better future, and greater heights. 

Mr. President, I know that the late Senator Daniel Inouye was a good friend of yours. 

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  He was.

PRIME MINISTER KISHIDA:  His mother was also from Hiroshima. 

Looking back at the long history of Japan and the United States, our predecessors have carved out the path in various fields, such as business, academia, art, and sports, traveling back and forth between the two countries. 

“The Pacific Ocean does not separate Japan and the United States.  Rather, it unites us.”  These were the words that President Kennedy sent to Prime Minister Ikeda, also hailing from Hiroshima, at the state luncheon held at the White House about 60 years ago. 

I like this line.  I — I use it so many times that my staff tried deleting it — (laughter) — whenever this phrase appeared on speech drafts.  However, there is nothing that expresses our relationship as visibly as this.  And never have these words been more relevant than today.  Japan and the United States are united than ever before.  (Applause.)  

I believe that the Pacific Ocean has brought Japan and the United States together and so close because of the pioneering spirit of those who came before us and frontier spirit that we all have in common.  The success of those standing on the frontier is not just because of their individual efforts but also the result of collective efforts as a team.  This hol- — this holds true even between nations. 

Our joint efforts are (inaudible) indispensable for our bright future and for the peace and stability of the world.  We are now standing at a turning point in history, embarking on a new frontier and elevate this unshakable Japan-U.S. relationship to even greater heights and hand it to the next generation.   

And, finally, let me conclude with the line from “Star Trek” — (laughter) — which you all know: “To boldly go where no one has gone before.”  (Laughter and applause.) 

By the way, George Takei, who played Hikaru Sulu, the helmsman of the USS Enterprise, also has roots in Hiroshima.  (Laughter and applause.)

Mr. President, Dr. Biden, distinguished guests, and ladies and gentlemen, I would like to propose a toast to our voyage to the frontier of the Japan-U.S. relationship with this word: “boldly go.”

AUDIENCE:  Cheers.

PRIME MINISTER KISHIDA:  Thank you.

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  Hear, hear.

PRIME MINISTER KISHIDA:  And “boldly go.”  Cheers.

(Prime Minister Kishida offers a toast.) 

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  Good job.

PRIME MINISTER KISHIDA:  Thank you.

8:17 P.M. EDT 

The post Remarks by President Biden and Prime Minister Kishida Fumio of Japan at State Dinner appeared first on The White House.

This evening, the President and the First Lady of the United States will host His Excellency Kishida Fumio, Prime Minister of Japan & Mrs. Kishida Yuko for a State Dinner.

The following is a complete list of expected guests:

THE PRESIDENT AND DR. BIDEN

HIS EXCELLENCY KISHIDA FUMIO, PRIME MINISTER OF JAPAN & MRS. KISHIDA YUKO

Mr. Akiba Takeo, National Security Advisor

Mr. Arima Yutaka, Director-General, North-American Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Mr. Ayase

Mr. Ajay Banga & Mrs. Ritu Banga

The Honorable John Bass, Acting Under Secretary for Political Affairs, U.S. Department of State & Ms. Audrey Hsieh

The Honorable Stephen K. Benjamin, Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Public Engagement & Miss Jordan Grace Benjamin

The Honorable Anthony R. Bernal, Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor to the First Lady & Mr. Brian Mosteller

Mr. Jeff Bezos & Ms. Lauren Sánchez

Ms. Ashley Biden & Dr. Howard Krein

Ms. Finnegan Biden

Ms. Naomi Biden Neal & Mr. Peter Neal

The Honorable Richard T. Bissen, Jr., Mayor of Maui County, Hawaii & Mrs. Isabella Bissen

The Honorable Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State, U.S. Department of State & The Honorable Evan M. Ryan, Assistant to the President and Cabinet Secretary

Mr. Neil Bluhm & Ms. Leslie Bluhm

Mr. Brent Booker & Dr. Katherine Booker

General Charles Q. Brown Jr., Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, U.S. Department of Defense & Mrs. Sharene Brown

The Honorable Bill Burns, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency & Ms. Sarah Burns

The Honorable Kurt M. Campbell, Deputy Secretary of State, U.S. Department of State & The Honorable Lael Brainard, Assistant to the President and Director of the National Economic Council

The Honorable William Jefferson Clinton, 42nd President of the United States & The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton, 67th Secretary of State of the United States

The Honorable David Cohen, Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency & Ms. Suzy Friedman Cohen

Mr. Tim Cook & Ms. Lisa Jackson

The Honorable Roy Cooper, Governor of North Carolina & Mrs. Kristin Cooper

The Honorable Diana DeGette, U.S. Representative & The Honorable Lino Lipinsky de Orlov

Mr. Robert De Niro & Ms. Tiffany Chen

Mr. James Dimon & Mrs. Judy Dimon

Mr. Michael C. Donilon & Mrs. Patricia Donilon

Ms. Ilana Emanuel

The Honorable Rahm Emanuel, Ambassador of the United States to Japan & Ms. Amy Rule

Mr. Zachariah Emanuel

The Honorable Tony Evers, Governor of Wisconsin & Mrs. Kathy Evers

Mr. Fred Eychaner & Mr. Danny Leung

Mr. Shawn Fain & Mrs. Stella Fain

The Honorable Jon Finer, Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor &

Ms. TJ Fadel

Mr. Laurence Fink

Mr. Bill Freeman & Mr. Tom Loftis

Dr. Funabashi Yoichi 

Mr. Funakoshi Takehiro, Senior Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs

Ms. Susie Gelman & Mr. Michael Gelman

Ms. Xochitl Gonzalez & Mr. Daniel Lubrano

Mr. Robert Goodman & Ms. Jayne Lipman

The Honorable Philip Gordon, Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor to the Vice President of the United States & The Honorable Rebecca Lissner, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor to the Vice President

Admiral Chris Grady, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, U.S. Department of Defense & Mrs. Christine Grady

The Honorable Jennifer Granholm, Secretary of Energy, U.S. Department of Energy & Mr. Daniel Mulhern

Mr. Jon Gray & Mrs. Mindy Gray

Mr. Rene Haas

The Honorable Avril D. Haines, Director of National Intelligence & Mr. David Davighi

The Honorable Bill Hagerty, U.S. Senator & Mrs. Chrissy Hagerty

The Honorable Bruce Harrell, Mayor of Seattle, Washington & Mrs. Joanne Harrell

The Honorable Kamala D. Harris, Vice President of the United States & Mr. Douglas C. Emhoff, Second Gentleman of the United States

The Honorable Mazie Hirono, U.S. Senator & Mr. Leighton Kim Oshima

The Honorable Amos Hochstein, Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor for Energy and Investment, National Security Council & Mrs. Rae Ringel

The Honorable Kathy Hochul, Governor of New York & Mr. William Hochul

Mr. Hosaka Shin, Vice Minister for International Affairs, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry

Mr. Hoshide Akihiko

Mr. Amos Hostetter & Mrs. Barbara Hostetter

Mr. Iijima Isao, Special Advisor to the Prime Minister and Cabinet

Ms. Ikuta Lilas

Mrs. Amabel B. James & Mr. Ryan Petersen

The Honorable Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives & Mrs. Kennisandra Jeffries

Her Excellency Kamikawa Yoko, Minister for Foreign Affairs

Mr. Katahira Satoshi

Mr. Katanozaka Shinya

Mr. Tony Kawai

Mr. Kobayashi Ken

Mr. Arvind Krishna & Mrs. Sonia Krishna

The Honorable Daniel J. Kritenbrink, Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, U.S. Department of State & Mrs. Nami Kritenbrink

Mr. Kunieda Shingo

Ms. Megan Myungwon Lee & Mr. Jeff Werner

The Honorable Mark Macarro, Tribal Chairman of the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians & Mrs. Holly Macarro

Mr. Maeda Tadashi

Ms. Judy Marks & Mr. Chris Kearney

The Honorable Doris Matsui, U.S. Representative & Mr. Roger Sant

The Honorable Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security, U.S. Department of Homeland Security & Mrs. Tanya Mayorkas

Mr. David McCall & Mrs. Donna McCall

Mr. Sanjay Mehrotra & Mrs. Sangeeta Mehrotra

The Honorable Jeff Merkley, U.S. Senator & Ms. Brynne Merkley

Mr. Mikitani Hiroshi

His Excellency Moriyama Masahito, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology

Mr. Murai Hideki, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary

Ms. Ellen Nakashima & Mr. Alan Sipress

Ms. Mira Nakashima & Mr. Jonathan Yarnall

Ms. Niki Nakayama & Ms. Carole Iida-Nakayama

The Honorable Bill Nelson, Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration & Mrs. Grace Nelson

Mr. Niinami Takeshi

Ms. Kelly O’Donnell & Mr. J. David Ake

Dr. Okina Yuri

Mr. Ono Keiichi, Senior Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs

Mr. Otsuru Tetsuya, Executive Secretary to the Prime Minister

The Honorable Thomas E. Perez, Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs & Ms. Ann Marie Staudenmaier

The Honorable John D. Podesta, Senior Advisor to the President for Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation & Ms. Mae Podesta

The Honorable Jerome Powell, Chair of the Federal Reserve of the United States & Mrs. Elissa Leonard

The Honorable Natalie H. Quillian, Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff & Mr. Ryan Quillian

The Honorable Gina Raimondo, Secretary of Commerce, U.S. Department of Commerce & Mr. Andy Moffit

The Honorable Mira Rapp-Hooper, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for East Asia and Oceania, National Security Council & Mr. Matthew Brest

The Honorable Bruce N. Reed, Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff & Ms. Bonnie LePard

Mrs. Lynda Resnick & Mr. Stewart Resnick

The Honorable Steve Ricchetti, Assistant to the President and Counselor to the President & Mrs. Amy Ricchetti

Ms. Cecile Richards & Mr. Kirk Adams

Mr. Robert Roche & Mrs. Ritsuko Hattori Roche

Mr. Josh Rogin & Mrs. Ali Rogin

Mr. Ethan Rosenzweig, Acting Chief of Protocol, U.S. Department of State

Mr. Michael J. Sacks & Mrs. Cari Sacks

His Excellency Saito Ken, Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry 

Mr. Sawada Jun

Mr. Serizawa Kiyoshi, Vice Minister for International Affairs, Ministry of Defense

The Honorable Josh Shapiro, Governor of Pennsylvania & Mrs. Lori Shapiro

Mr. Alex Hideo Shibutani

Ms. Maia Harumi Shibutani

Mr. Shikata Noriyuki, Cabinet Secretary for Public Affairs

Mr. Shimada Takashi, Executive Secretary to the Prime Minister

Mr. Brad Smith & Mr. Gregory Smith

Mr. Masayoshi Son

Mr. Robert Michael Stavis & Mrs. Amy Stavis

The Honorable Jake J. Sullivan, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs & Ms. Maggie Goodlander

The Honorable Katherine Tai, United States Trade Representative & Mr. Robert Skidmore

The Honorable Mark Takano, U.S. Representative & Mr. Glen Fukushima

The Honorable Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations & Mr. Lafayette Greenfield, II

The Honorable Jill Tokuda, U.S. Representative & Ms. Susan Morita

Ms. Maria D. Toler & Ms. Casey Albert

The Honorable Annie Tomasini, Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff & Mr. Ray Tomasini

Ms. Ueno Yukiko

The Honorable Pranay Vaddi, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Arms Control, Disarmament, and Nonproliferation, National Security Council & Mrs. Megan Vaddi

The Honorable Richard Verma, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, U.S. Department of State & Ms. Zoe Verma

The Honorable Lorraine A. Voles, Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to the Vice President & Ms. Ruby Smith

Mr. Kent Walker & Ms. Diana Walsh

Mr. Mark Walter & Mrs. Kimbra Walter

The Honorable Steven Westly & Mrs. Anita Yu Westly

Mr. Eugene Woods & Ms. Lauren Wooden

His Excellency Yamada Shigeo, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to the United States

Ms. Kristi Yamaguchi & Ms. Yukiko Saegusa

Mr. Yamamoto Takayoshi, Executive Secretary to the Prime Minister of Japan

The Honorable Janet L. Yellen, Secretary of the Treasury, U.S. Department of Treasury & The Honorable Adewale Adeyemo, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, U.S. Department of Treasury

Mr. David Zapolsky & Ms. Lynn Hubbard

The Honorable Jeff Zients, Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to the President & Mrs. Mary Zients

###

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Rose Garden

1:23 P.M. EDT

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  Please, have a seat.

It’s an honor to stand here today with the Prime Minister of Japan, President Kishi- — Prime Minister Kishida. 

When I became president, I said that the United States would rebuild the muscle of our demo- — democratic alliances and we’d stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies again, because our alliances are America’s greatest asset.  The relationship with Japan is powerful proof of that — that in investing in our alliance and raising our collective ambitions, we yield remarkable results.

Over the last three years, the partnership between Japan and the United States has been transformed into a truly global partnership.  And that’s thanks in no small part to the courageous leadership of Prime Minister Kishida.  And I mean that sincerely.

Together, our countries are taking significant steps to strengthen defense and security cooperation, we’re modernizing command and control structures, and we’re increasing the interoperability and planning of our militaries so they can work together in a seamless and effective way.

This is the most significant upgrade in our alliance since the end — since it was first established. 

I’m also pleased to announce that for the first time, Japan and the United States and Australia will create a networked system of air, missile, and defense architecture.  We’re also looking forward to standing up a trilateral military exercise with Japan and the United Kingdom. 

And our AUKUS defense partnership with Australia and the United Kingdom is exploring how Japan can join our work in the second pillar, which focuses on advanced capabilities, including AI, autonomous systems.  All told, that represents a new benchmark for our military cooperation across a range of capabilities.

On the economic front, our ties have never been more robust.  Japan is the top foreign investor in the United States.  Say that again: Japan is the top foreign investor in the United States.  And we, the United States, are the top foreign investor in Japan. Nearly 1 million Americans work in Japanese companies here in the United States.

And to name just one example, a few months ago, Toyota announced an $8 billion investment in a massive battery production facility in North Carolina, which will inc- — employ thousands of people.  The Prime Minister is going to travel to North Carolina tomorrow to visit that project. 

Don’t stay.  Don’t stay.  We need you back in Japan.  (Laughter.)  They’ll probably try to keep you.

We also affirmed the science and education ties between Japan and the United States.  Those tries — ties stretch up to the moon, where two Japanese astronauts will join future American missions, and one will become the first non-American ever to land on the moon. 

And they reach into the high schools and universities, as well, where the Mineta Ambassadors — Minetas Program exists, named for our dear friend Norm Mineta.  We’re going to invest in new student exchanges, help train the next generation of Japanese and American leaders.  

We also discussed developments in the Middle East, including our shared support for a ceasefire and a hostage deal and urgent efforts to deal with the humanitarian crisis that exists in Gaza. 

We also want to address the Iranian threat to launch a sign- — they — they’re threatening to launch a significant attack on Israel.  As I told Prime Minister Netanyahu, our commitment to Israel’s security against these threats from Iran and its proxies is ironclad.  Let me say it again: ironclad.  We’re going to do all we can to protect Israel’s security.

And, finally, I want to commend the Prime Minister himself.  He is a statesman.  Command — you know, the fact is that you condemned Putin’s invasion of — brutal invasion of Ukraine when it happened.  You pledged more than $12 billion in aid; prioritizing nuclear nonproliferation at the United Nations Security Council; standing strong with the United States as we stand up for freedom of navigation, including in the South China Sea and as we maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits; and taking the brave step of mending ties with the Republic of Korea so we can all stand shoulder to shoulder together.

Tomorrow, we will both be joined by another good friend, President Marcos of the Philippines, for a trilateral summit — the first of its kind. 

And through it all, our commitment to the defense of Japan under Article 5, including the Sena- — excuse me — Senkaku Islands, is unwavering.

Mr. Prime Minister, through our partnership, we have strengthened this alliance.  We have expanded our work together.  We have raised our shared ambitions.  And now, the U.S.-Japan alliance is a beacon to the entire world. 

There’s no limit to what our countries can and our people can do together. 

So, thank you for your partnership, your leadership, and your friendship. 

And now, over to you, Mr. Prime Minister.

PRIME MINISTER KISHIDA:  Thank you, Joe.

(As interpreted.)  President Biden and I have met and talked countless times and confirmed our shared notion that we are at crucial crossroads and that Japan-U.S. partnership is immensely important. 

The international community stands at a historical turning point.  In order for Japan, the U.S., the Indo-Pacific region, and, for that matter, the whole world to enjoy peace, stability, and prosperity lasting into the future, we must resolutely defend and further solidify a free and open international order based on the rule of law.

And again, today, I told the President that now is the time to demonstrate the true values that Japan and the United States can offer as global partners, that we must together fulfill our responsibilities to create a world where human dignity is upheld and that Japan will always stand firm with the United States.

I explained that, based on our national security strategy, Japan is determined to strengthen our defense force through position of counterstrike capabilities, increase our defense budget and other initiatives, and was reassured by President Biden of his strong support for such efforts.

In such context, we confirmed again the urgency to further bolster the deterrence and response capabilities of our alliance and concurred on reinforcing our security and defense cooperation to increase interoperability between the U.S. forces and our self-defense forces, including the improvement of our respective command-and-control frameworks.

We will be discussing the specifics as we plan for the next Japan-U.S. two-plus-two.

The President and I went on to discuss various specific challenges faced by the international community. 

First, we confirmed that unilateral attempts to change status quo by force or coercion is absolutely unacceptable, wherever it may be, and that we will continue to respond resolutely against such action through cooperation with allies and likeminded nations.

From such perspective, we agreed that our two countries will continue to respond to challenges concerning China through close coordination.  At the same time, we confirmed the importance of continuing our dialogue with China and cooperating with China on common challenges.

We also underscored the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits and confirmed our position to encourage peaceful resolution of the Cross-Straits issue.

The situation in North Korea, including nuclear and missiles development, was brought up as well.  We welcomed the progress seen in many areas of cooperation based on the outcome of the Japan-U.S.-ROK summit last August and concurred to coordinate even more closely as we face serious concerns under the current state of affairs.

President Biden once again demonstrated his strong support towards the immediate resolution of the abduction issue.

We reaffirmed the importance of realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific based on the rule of law and concurred to maintain close collaboration through various opportunities, including the Japan-U.S.-Philippines summit, which is planned for tomorrow.

Regarding Russia’s aggression of Ukraine, based on

a recognition that Ukraine today may be East Asia tomorrow — taking the issue as our own problem for Japan, I expressed our resolution to continue with stringent sanctions against Russia and strong support for Ukraine.  And we concurred to maintain close partnership with likeminded countries.

On the situation in the Middle East, I expressed my respect for the efforts of President Biden towards the release of the hostages, improvement of the humanitarian situation, and for calming down the situation.  I then explained how Japan is continuing diplomatic efforts to improve the humanitarian situation and to realize a sustainable ceasefire

and agreed to continue close cooperation towards the improvement of the situation, the realization of a two-state solution, and the stabilization of the region.

Regarding the economy, we firstly concurred that for both of us to lead the global economic growth together, the promotion of investment in both directions is important.  I explained how Japanese businesses are making a significant contribution to the U.S. economy by the investment and the creation of jobs, to which President Biden agreed.

In order to maintain and strengthen the competitive edge in the area of advanced technologies and to respond appropriately to issues such as economic coercion, non-market policies and practices, and excess capacities and to overcome the vulnerability of the supply chains and to lead a sustainable and inclusive economic growth, we affirmed that the collaboration of Japan and the United States is indispensable. 

In addition, we concurred to advance our cooperation in the areas such as decarbonization, AI, and start-ups. 

There was a huge achievement also in the area of space.  In the first half of the 1960s, when I was in the United States, it was the dawn of space development in the United States.  I am one of all those who were so excited in the U.S. by the spectacular challenge in space. 

The implementing arrangement has been signed on this occasion and the provision of the lunar rover by Japan and the allocation of two astronaut flight opportunities to the lunar surface to Japan were confirmed.  Under the Artemis program, I welcome the lunar landing by a Japanese astronaut as the first non-U.S. astronaut. 

We also discussed the efforts towards a world without nuclear weapons.  We affirmed the realistic and practical endeavors of nuclear disarmament, including the issuance of the G7 Leaders’ Hiroshima Vision last year.  And I welcomed the participation of the United States in the FMCT Friends, which was launched by my initiative. 

Lastly, in order to further strengthen the people-to-people bond, which is the cornerstone of our unwavering Japan-U.S. relationship, we affirmed to further promote people-to-people exchanges. 

As the outcome of our meeting today, we will issue the joint statement titled “The Global Partners for the Future.”  This is the expression of the determination of Japan and the United States to maintain and strengthen a free and open international order based on the rule of law that underpins the peace, stability, and prosperity of the international community and states the guiding principles. 

With our partnership, we will defend the future of Japan and the United States, the Indo-Pacific, and the world and make that future all the more prosperous. 

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  Thank you.  Now we’ll take a few questions. 

Jordan Fabian of Bloomberg. 

Q    Thank you, Mr. President.  Last month, you predicted the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates thanks to falling inflation.  But today, data showed that inflation rose more than expected for the third straight month.  So, how concerned are you about the fight against inflation stalling?  And do you stand by your prediction for a rate cut?

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  Well, I do stand by my prediction that before the year is out there will a rate cut.  This may delay it a month or so.  I’m not sure of that.  I don’t — we don’t know what the Fed is going to do for certain. 

But, look, we have dramatically reduced inflation from 9 percent down to close to 3 percent.  We’re in a situation where we’re better situated than we were when we took office where we — inflation was skyrocketing.  And we have a plan to deal with it, whereas the opposition — my opposition talks about two things.  They just want to cut taxes for the wealthy and raise taxes on other people. 

And so, I think they’re — they have no plan.  Our plan is one I think is still sustainable. 

Q    Mr. Prime Minister, you said that the Nippon Steel acquisition of U.S. Steel is a private matter.  But I’m wondering: Did you discuss the matter today with President Biden?  And do you believe that politics are influencing President Biden’s decision to oppose the deal?

And I wouldn’t mind, Mr. President, if you answer that one too. 

PRIME MINISTER KISHIDA:  (As interpreted.)  On the issue that you have raised, we understand that discussions are underway between the parties.  We hope these discussions will unfold in directions that would be positive for both sides. 

Japan believes that appropriate procedures based on law is being implemented by the U.S. government.  Japan is the largest investor to the United States.  Japanese businesses employ close to 1 million workers in the United States.  And investment from Japan to the U.S. can only increase upwards in the months and years to come. 

And we wish to cement this win-win relationship.  Thank you. 

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  I stand by my commitment to American workers.  I ca- — a man of my word, I’m going to keep it.  And with regard to that, I stand by our commitment to our alliance.  This is exactly what we’re doing — a strong alliance as well. 

Q    Nakakuki of Kyodo News.  My question is to both Prime Minister Kishida and President Biden.  At the summit, you confirmed your strong objections against unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion by China and agreed on reinforcing response capabilities. 

Under current circumstances, should Japan and the United States bolster defense capabilities?  China may become more preoccupied in military expansion and intensify its coercive behavior.  That is the risk of (inaudible).  In order to avoid divide and expa- — avoid the divide, how should Japan and U.S. respond?

PRIME MINISTER KISHIDA:  (As interpreted.)  Let me then take that question first.  At this summit, we confirmed that the United States and Japan will resolutely defend and bolster a free and open international order based on the rule of law and that Japan and the United States, as global partners, shall work together for that purpose.

On challenges concerning China, including the point you raised on objecting to unilateral attempts to change status quo by force or coercion, we concurred that Japan and the United States as global partners shall work in close coordination. 

And also, as I said previously, we will continue our dialogue with China and we will cooperate with China in tackling common challenges.  And the President and I confirmed the importance of such dialogue as well. 

Based on the solid trust with our ally, the United States, we will continue to call on China to fulfill its responsibilities as a major power. 

Japan’s policy, which I have consistently embraced, is to comprehensively promote the mutual strategic relationship we have with China and establish a constructive and stable Japan-China relationship through efforts by both sides.  That has been my consistent position that I have upheld.  We will continue to seek close communication with China at all levels. 

That’s it for me.

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  You know, first of all, we keep improving our lines of communications with one another — and that’s the United States and China.  We — I’ve met — I’ve recently spoken at length with President Xi.  And we’ve agreed that we would, number one, have personal contact with one another whenever we want to discuss to anything so there’d be no — nothing lipped — nothing slips between, as they say — between the cup and the lip, so we know exactly what the other team is thinking.  Number one. 

And so, we had a long discussion last — now almost — I guess almost two weeks ago now.  And — the best way to reduce the chances of miscalculation and misunderstanding.  That’s number one. 

Number two, in our alliance we have with Japan — is a purely defensive in nature.  It’s a defensive alliance.  And the things we discussed today improve our cooperation and are — and are purely about defense and readiness.  It’s not aimed at any one nation or a threat to the region.  And it — it doesn’t have anything to do with conflict.  And so, this is about restoring stability in the region.  And I think we have a chance of doing that. 

Okay.  Third que- — the next question.  Who — who do I call on next?  Hang on a second.  I got my list here.  Hang on.  I apologize. 

Aurelia of AFP.

Q    Thank you.  My first question would go to both of you, Mr. President and Mr. Prime Minister.  Is there a path for Japan to become a full member of AUKUS? 

And I would have a second question for you, Mr. President.  You’re now saying that Benjamin Netanyahu is making a mistake in Gaza.  What are you willing to do to make him change his strategy?  And would you consider conditioning military aid to Israel?  Thank you.

PRIME MINISTER KISHIDA:  (As interpreted.)  Thank you.  Your question about AUKUS, I will respond.  Our country — we want to contribute to the peace and stability of the region.  And therefore, we have consistently supported AUKUS. 

Having said that, the participants of AUKUS — U.S., UK, Australia — with such countries’ bi- — bilateral relationship or in multilateral occasions, we have established various relationships.  But for Japan, to have a direct cooperation with AUKUS, nothing has been decided at this moment.

Going forward with U.S., UK, or with Australia — with such countries, in bilateral or multilateral frameworks, we will continue our cooperation so that they will continue to be considered.

At the moment, about the relationship between Japan and AUKUS, that’s it.

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  With regard to my discussions with Bibi Netanyahu — Prime Minister Netanyahu, as well as our relationship with Israel, I have been very blunt and straightforward with the Prime Minister, as well as his War Cabinet, as well as the Cabinet. 

And the fact of the matter is that Bibi and I had a long discussion.  He agreed to do several things that related to, number one, getting more aid — both food and medicine — into Gaza and reducing significantly the attempts — the civilian casualties in any action taken in the region. 

And thus far — and we — and it’s tied to the hostages.  There are a number of hostages that are being held by a — by the — Hamas.  And just yesterday, we were meeting with the Vice President and our National Security Advisor before that, and they — and there are American hostages as well.  And they know how committed we are — the whole team — to getting their loved ones home, and we’re not going to stop until we do.

The new proposal on the table — Bill Burns led the effort to — for us, and we’re grateful for his work — there’s a now — up to Hamas.  They need to move on the proposal that’s been made.  And as I said, it would get these hostages home where they belong but also bring back a six-week cea- — ceasefire that we need now. 

And the fact is that we’re — they’re getting in somewhere, in the last three days, over a hundred trucks.  It’s not enough.  But it needs to be — be more, and there’s one more opening that has to take place in the north. 

So, we’ll see what he does in terms of meeting the commitments he made to me. 

Okay —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  This will be the last reporter. 

PRIME MINISTER KISHIDA:  (As interpreted.)  Mr. Shimizu, please.

Q    (As interpreted.)  Thank you.  Shimizu of NHK.  I ask the question to both of you. 

As Prime Minister Kishida mentioned, the abduction issue of North Korea, I believe, was discussed.  Prime Minister, you have expressed your wish to have a direct engagement with Kim Jong Un.  But they say that abduction is already result, which means that they are refusing.  During the meeting, what did you tell President Biden about the outlook of a summit?  And what engagement did you ask President Biden?

President Biden, my question: What did you hear from Prime Minister Kishida?  And what is your observation and feeling, your President, with the nuclear missile issues?  What is your position?  Do you support the summit between Japan and North Korea?  Thank you. 

PRIME MINISTER KISHIDA:  (As interpreted.)  First of all, if I may start, regarding my summit meeting with President Biden about North Korea, including the missile and nuclear issues we have discussed, and regarding the increasingly worrying situation, we have agreed to continue a close coordination. 

And on top of that, we concurred that the window of a discussion with North Korea is open.  And we discussed that Japan, U.S. — Japan, U.S., and ROK will continue to work closely together. 

I also asked for the continued understanding and cooperation for the immediate resolution of the abduction issue.  And President Biden once again gave myself a very strong assurance regarding the recent announcement by North Korea.

I will refrain from commenting on each and every announcement by North Korea.  But as I have been mentioning repeatedly, based on the perspective that the establishment of a meaningful relationship between Japan and North Korea is in the interest of both Japan and North Korea and that it could be hugely beneficial to the peace and stability of the region, my policy is to aim for a summit meeting with North Korea to resolve various issues and will advise high-level consultation directly under my instruction.  And that remains unchanged. 

That is my response.

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  We did discuss this issue.  We both agreed the DPRK must — must also address the serious human rights and humanitarian concerns of the international community, including the immediate resolution of the abduction issue.

But, you know, the Prime Minister has just spoken to the potential of what his plans may mean.  But welcome — I welcome the opportunity — we welcome the opportunity of our allies to initiate dialogue with the Democratic Republic of Korea.

As I’ve said many times, we’re open to dialogue ourselves at any time wi- — but without preconditions from the DPRK. 

So, I have faith in the — in the — Japan.  I have faith in the Prime Minister.  And I think his seeking a dialogue with them is a good thing.  It’s a positive thing. 

Thank you.

Q    Sir, on the issue of abortion — 

Q    What will you do if Israel invades Rafah?

Q    On the issue of abortion, sir, what do you say to the people of Arizona?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  This concludes the press conference.  Thanks, everybody.

Q    Mr. President, are the American hostages alive?

Q    What will you do if Israel invades Rafah?

(Cross-talk.)

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  Why doesn’t everybody holler at once?

Q    I’ll ask you briefly.  On the issue of abortion, sir, respectfully, what do you say to the people of Arizona right now who are witnessing a law go in place that dates back to the Civil War era? 

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  Elect me.  I’m in the 20 — it’s the 20th century — 21st century, not back then.  They weren’t even a state.  I find —

Q    Sir, how does the —

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  I —

Q    What will you do if Israel invades Rafah?

Q    Mr. President, how does the war in Ukraine come to an end?

(Cross-talk.)

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  Thank you.  Thank you all very much.  Thank you.

Q    Sir, how does the —

(Cross-talk.)

Q    Can you elaborate on what mistake Netanyahu is making, sir?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Thanks, everybody.

Q    How does the war in Ukraine come to an end, sir?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  This concludes the press conference.

(Cross-talk.) 

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  By the House — by the Hou- — the war in Ukraine comes to an end by the House Leader allowing a vote.  There’s overwhelming support for Ukraine among the majority of Democrats and Republicans.  There should be a vote now.

(Cross-talk.)

Q    Are the American hostages alive?

Q    Will you reconsider the LNG export ban, sir?

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  There is no ban to Japan. 

1:53 P.M. EDT

The post Remarks by President Biden and Prime Minister Kishida Fumio of Japan in Joint Press Conference appeared first on The White House.

Global Partners for the Future

Over the course of the last three years, the U.S.-Japan Alliance has reached unprecedented heights. We arrived at this historic moment because our nations, individually and together, took courageous steps to strengthen our collective capacity in ways that would have seemed impossible just a few years ago. Today, we, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. and Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio, celebrate this new era of U.S.-Japan strategic cooperation during the Prime Minister’s Official Visit and State Dinner in Washington, D.C.—and pledge that the United States and Japan will continue our tireless work, together and with other partners, to realize a free and open Indo-Pacific and world.

In this new era of U.S.-Japan cooperation, we recognize that global events affect the security and stability of the Indo-Pacific, and that developments in our shared region reverberate around the world. We are therefore working together, across all domains and at all levels, to build a global partnership that is fit for purpose to address the complex, interconnected challenges of today and tomorrow for the benefit of our two countries and the world. As our Alliance cooperation reaches new heights, we are expanding our engagement to reflect the global nature of our partnership.

At the core of our cooperation is a shared commitment to work with like-minded partners and multilateral institutions to address common challenges and to ensure a world that is free, open, connected, resilient, and secure. These joint efforts are based on our shared fundamental respect for international law, including the protection and promotion of human rights and dignity, the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states, and the prohibition on acquisition of territory by force. Our purpose as partners is to uphold and bolster the free and open international order based on the rule of law that has allowed so many nations to develop and prosper, and to ensure our Alliance is equipped to tackle the challenges of the 21st century.

To advance our global partnership, today we announce several new strategic initiatives to strengthen our defense and security cooperation; reach new frontiers in space; drive technology innovation; bolster economic security; accelerate climate action; partner on global diplomacy and development; and fortify the ties between our peoples. Through our global partnership, we are also synchronizing our strategies, and our two nations have never been more united as we work together to address the most pressing challenges and opportunities of the future.

Strengthening our Defense and Security Cooperation

The core of our global partnership is our bilateral defense and security cooperation under the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security, which is stronger than ever. We affirm that our Alliance remains the cornerstone of peace, security, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific. President Biden reiterated the unwavering commitment of the United States to the defense of Japan under Article V of the Treaty, using its full range of capabilities, including nuclear capabilities. Prime Minister Kishida reaffirmed Japan’s unwavering commitment to fundamentally reinforce its own defense capabilities and roles, and to enhance its close coordination with the United States under the Treaty.President Biden also reaffirmed that Article V applies to the Senkaku Islands. We reiterated our strong opposition to any attempts by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to unilaterally change the status quo by force or coercion in the East China Sea, including through actions that seek to undermine Japan’s longstanding and peaceful administration of the Senkaku Islands. We welcome the progress in optimizing Alliance force posture in areas including the Southwestern Islands to strengthen U.S.-Japan deterrence and response capabilities, and we confirm the importance of further advancing this initiative.

The United States welcomes the steps Japan is taking to fundamentally enhance its defense capabilities, including its plans to increase the budget for its defense capabilities and complementary initiatives to two percent of GDP in Japanese Fiscal Year (JFY) 2027 in accordance with Japan’s National Security Strategy, its decision to possess counterstrike capabilities, and its plans to stand up the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) Joint Operations Command to enhance command and control of the JSDF. Together, these initiatives elevate our defense ties to unprecedented levels and launch a new era of U.S.-Japan security cooperation, strengthening our Alliance and contributing to stability in the Indo-Pacific.

Today, we announce several new strategic initiatives to further advance our Alliance. Recognizing the speed at which regional security challenges evolve and to ensure our bilateral Alliance structures meet these critical changes, we announce our intention to bilaterally upgrade our respective command and control frameworks to enable seamless integration of operations and capabilities and allow for greater interoperability and planning between U.S. and Japanese forces in peacetime and during contingencies. More effective U.S.-Japan Alliance command and control will strengthen deterrence and promote a free and open Indo-Pacific in the face of pressing regional security challenges. We call on our respective defense and foreign ministries to develop this new relationship through the Security Consultative Committee (our security “2+2”). In support of this vision, we also reaffirm our goal to deepen Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance cooperation and Alliance information sharing capabilities, including through the Bilateral Information Analysis Cell.

We will also continue to implement efforts to strengthen our Alliance force posture, build high-end base capabilities, and increase preparedness that are necessary to deter and defend against threats. We resolve to deepen bilateral cooperation toward the effective development and employment of Japan’s suite of counterstrike capabilities, including the provision of U.S. materiel and technological support to enhance Japan’s indigenous stand-off programs. The United States expressed its commitment to start the training pipeline and ship modifications for Japan to acquire operational capability of the Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM) system. We also reaffirmed our pursuit of a Glide Phase Interceptor (GPI) cooperative development program to counter high-end, regional hypersonic threats.

As our countries strengthen our bilateral ties, we will continue to build our relationships with like-minded partners in the region. Today, we announce our vision to cooperate on a networked air defense architecture among the United States, Japan, and Australia to counter growing air and missile threats. Recognizing Japan’s strengths and the close bilateral defense partnerships with the AUKUS countries, AUKUS partners – Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States – are considering cooperation with Japan on AUKUS Pillar II advanced capability projects. Continuing the momentum from the Camp David Summit, we welcome progress on establishing an annual multidomain exercise between the United States, Japan, and the Republic of Korea (ROK). Recognizing the commitments made in the Atlantic Declaration and the Hiroshima Accord, and as the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic regions become ever more interlinked, we welcome the announcement of regular U.S.-Japan-UK trilateral exercises, beginning in 2025, as we enhance our shared and enduring security. Building on the announcement at the Australia Official Visit in October to pursue trilateral cooperation with Japan on unmanned aerial systems, we are exploring cooperative opportunities in the rapidly emerging field of collaborative combat aircraft and autonomy.

The United States welcomes Japan’s revision of the Three Principles on the Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology and its Implementation Guidelines, which bolsters cooperation through joint development and production to enhance our deterrence capabilities in the region. To leverage our respective industrial bases to meet the demand for critical capabilities and maintain readiness over the long term, we will convene a Forum on Defense Industrial Cooperation, Acquisition and Sustainment (DICAS) co-led by the U.S. Department of Defense and Japan’s Ministry of Defense to identify priority areas for partnering U.S. and Japanese industry, including co-development and co-production of missiles and co-sustainment of forward-deployed U.S. Navy ships and U.S. Air Force aircraft, including fourth generation fighters, at Japanese commercial facilities, in coordination with relevant ministries. This forum, in conjunction with our existing Defense Science and Technology Cooperation Group, will better integrate and align our defense industrial policy, acquisition, and science and technology ecosystems. The DICAS will provide updates on progress to the foreign and defense ministers in the security “2+2.” We also commit to establishing a working group to explore opportunities for future fighter pilot training and readiness, including AI and advanced simulators, and co-development and co-production of cutting-edge technologies such as common jet trainers to maintain combat-ready next-generation fighter airpower.

We reaffirm the critical importance of continuing to enhance U.S. extended deterrence, bolstered by Japan’s defense capabilities, and will further strengthen bilateral cooperation. In this regard, we call on our respective foreign and defense ministers to hold in-depth discussions on extended deterrence on the occasion of the next security “2+2” meeting.

We continue to deepen our cooperation on information and cyber security to ensure that our Alliance stays ahead of growing cyber threats and builds resilience in the information and communication technology domain. We also plan on enhancing our cooperation on the protection of critical infrastructure.

Recognizing the importance of rapidly responding to frequent and severe climate change-related and other natural disasters, we plan to explore cooperation on the establishment of a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief hub in Japan.

In order to maintain deterrence and mitigate impact on local communities, we are firmly committed to the steady implementation of the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan in accordance with Okinawa Consolidation Plan, including the construction of the Futenma Replacement Facility at Henoko as the only solution that avoids the continued use of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma.

Reaching New Frontiers in Space

Our global partnership extends to space, where the United States and Japan are leading the way to explore our solar system and return to the Moon. Today, we welcome the signing of a Lunar Surface Exploration Implementing Arrangement, in which Japan plans to provide and sustain operation of a pressurized lunar rover while the United States plans to allocate two astronaut flight opportunities to the lunar surface for Japan on future Artemis missions. The leaders announced a shared goal for a Japanese national to be the first non-American astronaut to land on the Moon on a future Artemis mission, assuming important benchmarks are achieved. The United States and Japan plan to deepen cooperation on astronaut training to facilitate this goal while managing the risks of these challenging and inspiring lunar surface missions. We also announce bilateral collaboration on a Low Earth Orbit detection and tracking constellation for missiles such as hypersonic glide vehicles, including potential collaboration with U.S. industry.

Leading on Innovation, Economic Security, and Climate Action

The United States and Japan aim to maximally align our economic, technology, and related strategies to advance innovation, strengthen our industrial bases, promote resilient and reliable supply chains, and build the strategic emerging industries of the future while pursuing deep emissions reductions this decade. Building on our efforts in the U.S.-Japan Competitiveness and Resilience (CoRe) Partnership, including through the U.S.-Japan Economic Policy Consultative Committee (our economic “2+2”), we intend to sharpen our innovative edge and strengthen our economic security, including by promoting and protecting critical and emerging technologies.

The United States and Japan welcome our robust economic and commercial ties through mutual investment, including Microsoft’s $2.9 billion investment in Japan on AI and cloud infrastructure, workforce training, and a research lab; and Toyota’s recent additional $8 billion battery production investment for a cumulative $13.9 billion investment in North Carolina. Japan is the top foreign investor in the United States with nearly $800 billion in foreign direct investment, and Japanese companies employ nearly 1 million Americans across all 50 states. Similarly, as a top foreign investor in Japan for many years, the United States is supporting Japan’s economic growth, and as two of the world’s largest financial sectors, we commit to strengthening our partnership to bolster cross-border investment and support financial stability. As robust and creative economies, we also plan to accelerate investment in our respective start-up environments to foster innovation through the “Japan Innovation Campus” in Silicon Valley and the “Global Startup Campus” to be established in Tokyo, and in companies that take actions toward sustainable value creation (SX). We welcome our new Japan-U.S. personnel exchange programs on startups and venture capital firms under the Global Innovation through Science and Technology (GIST) initiative.

We are committed to strengthening our shared role as global leaders in the development and protection of next-generation critical and emerging technologies such as AI, quantum technology, semiconductors, and biotechnology through research exchange and private investment and capital finance, including with other like-minded partners. We welcome our collaboration on AI for Science between Riken and Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) founded on the revised project arrangement.

We applaud the establishment of $110 million in new AI research partnerships – between the University of Washington and University of Tsukuba and between Carnegie Mellon University and Keio University – through funding from NVIDIA, Arm, Amazon, Microsoft, and a consortium of Japanese companies. We are committed to further advancing the Hiroshima AI Process and strengthening collaboration between the national AI Safety Institutes.

Building on our long history of semiconductor cooperation, we intend to establish a joint technology agenda for cooperation on issues such as research and development, design, and workforce development. We also welcome the robust cooperation between and with our private sectors, especially in next-generation semiconductors and advanced packaging. We also plan to work together along with like-minded countries to strengthen global semiconductor supply chains, particularly for mature node (“legacy”) semiconductors through information-sharing, coordination of policies, and addressing vulnerabilities stemming from non-market policies and practices. We also celebrate the signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation between Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) and the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as a first step in bilateral cooperation on quantum computing.

Building on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) and our respective leadership of the G7 and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) last year, we continue to advance resilience, sustainability, inclusiveness, economic growth, fairness, and competitiveness for our economies. We applaud the recent entry into force of the IPEF Supply Chain Agreement. We will continue to seek cooperation on critical minerals projects, including those along the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment Lobito Corridor, and through the Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) as well as the Partnership for Resilient and Inclusive Supply-chain Enhancement (RISE). We are cooperating to deter and address economic coercion, through our bilateral cooperation as well as through our work with like-minded partners including the G7 Coordination Platform on Economic Coercion. We are working to uphold a free, fair and rules-based economic order; address non-market policies and practices; build trusted, resilient, and sustainable supply chains; and promote open markets and fair competition under the U.S.-Japan economic “2+2” and the U.S.-Japan Commercial and Industrial Partnership. We will advance our commitment to operationalize data free flow with trust, including with respect to data security. We will also discuss the promotion of resilient and responsible seafood supply chains.

The United States and Japan recognize that the climate crisis is the existential challenge of our time and intend to be leaders in the global response. Towards our shared goal of accelerating the clean energy transition, we are launching a new high-level dialogue on how we implement our respective domestic measures and maximize their synergies and impacts, including the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act and Japan’s Green Transformation (GX) Promotion Strategy aimed at accelerating energy transition progress this decade, promoting complementary and innovative clean energy supply chains and improving industrial competitiveness. Today we announce Japan joins as the first international collaborator of the U.S. Floating Offshore Wind Shot. We intend to work together towards global ambition in line with the Wind Shot, taking into consideration national circumstances, through the Clean Energy and Energy Security Initiative (CEESI) to pursue innovative breakthroughs that drive down technology costs, accelerate decarbonization, and deliver benefits for coastal communities. The United States welcomes Japan’s newly-launched industry platform, the Floating Offshore Wind Technology Research Association (FLOWRA), aiming to reduce costs and achieve mass production of floating offshore wind through collaboration with academia.

We are further leading the way in developing and deploying next generation clean energy technology, including fusion energy development through the announcement of a U.S.-Japan Strategic Partnership to Accelerate Fusion Energy Demonstration and Commercialization.

The United States remains unwavering in its commitment to support the energy security of Japan and other allies, including its ability to predictably supply LNG while accelerating the global transition to zero-emissions energy and working with other fossil energy importers and producers to minimize methane emissions across the fossil energy value chain to the fullest extent practicable.

We intend to advance widespread adoption of innovative new clean energy technologies, and seek to increase the globally available supply of sustainable aviation fuel or feedstock, including those that are ethanol-based, that show promise in reducing emissions.

We are also working to align global health security and innovation, including in such areas as pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response and promoting more resilient, equitable, and sustainable health systems. Today, we announce that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Japan’s Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA) intend to collaborate and exchange information on oncology drug products to help cancer patients receive earlier access to medications and to discuss future drug development and ways to prevent drug shortages. We welcome PMDA’s future representative office in Washington, D.C., to facilitate this cooperation.

Partnering on Global Diplomacy and Development

The challenges we face transcend geography. The United States and Japan are steadfast in our commitment to upholding international law, including the UN Charter, and call for all Member States to uphold the Charter’s purposes and principles, including refraining from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State. We remain committed to reforming the UN Security Council (UNSC), including through expansion in permanent and non-permanent categories of its membership. President Biden reiterated support for Japan’s permanent membership on a reformed UNSC.

We reaffirm our commitment made in Hiroshima last year and are determined to further promote our cooperation in the G7 and work together with partners beyond the G7.

We emphasize the importance of all parties promoting open channels of communication and practical measures to reduce the risk of misunderstanding and miscalculation and to prevent conflict in the Indo-Pacific. In particular, we underscore the importance of candid communication with the PRC, including at the leader level, and express the intent to work with the PRC where possible on areas of common interest.

We emphasize the importance of all States being able to exercise rights and freedoms in a manner consistent with international law as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), including freedom of navigation and overflight. We strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion, including destabilizing actions in the South China Sea, such as unsafe encounters at sea and in the air as well as the militarization of disputed features and the dangerous use of coast guard vessels and maritime militia. The PRC’s recent dangerous and escalatory behavior supporting its unlawful maritime claims in the South China Sea as well as efforts to disrupt other countries’ offshore resource exploitation are inconsistent with international law as reflected in UNCLOS. We also emphasize that the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Award is final and legally binding on the parties to that proceeding. We resolve to work with partners, particularly in ASEAN, to support regional maritime security and uphold international law.

We emphasize that our basic positions on Taiwan remain unchanged and reiterate the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element of global security and prosperity. We encourage the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues.

We continue working together with partner countries to make concrete progress in strengthening the international financial architecture and fostering investment under the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment. We are committed to delivering better, bigger, more effective multilateral development banks including through our planned contributions that would enable more than $30 billion in new World Bank lending and securing ambitious International Development Association and Asian Development Fund replenishments. We also emphasize the importance of private sector investment in the Indo-Pacific. We welcome the announcement of Google’s $1 billion investment in digital connectivity for North Pacific Connect, which expands the Pacific Connect Initiative, with NEC, to improve digital communications infrastructure between the United States, Japan and Pacific Island Nations. Building on the U.S.-Australia joint funding commitment for subsea cables last October, the United States and Japan plan to collaborate with like-minded partners to build trusted and more resilient networks and intend to contribute funds to provide subsea cables in the Pacific region, including $16 million towards cable systems for the Federated States of Micronesia and Tuvalu.

We reaffirm our steadfast commitment to the Quad and its shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific that is stable, prosperous, and inclusive which continues to deliver results for the region. We reiterate the Quad’s unwavering support and respect for regional institutions, including ASEAN, the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), and the Indian Ocean Rim Association. We also reaffirm our support for ASEAN centrality and unity as well as the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific. Southeast Asian countries are critical partners in the Indo-Pacific and the U.S.-Japan-Philippines trilateral aims to enhance trilateral defense and security cooperation while promoting economic security and resilience. Japan and the United States reaffirmed our intention to work to support the region’s priorities as articulated through the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, including through the PIF as the Pacific’s preeminent institution as well as through the Partners in the Blue Pacific (PBP).

As we pursue our shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific, we continue to build strong ties between key, like-minded partners in the region. Building on the historic success of the Camp David Trilateral Summit, the United States, Japan and the Republic of Korea continue to collaborate on promoting regional security, strengthening deterrence, coordinating development and humanitarian assistance, countering North Korea’s illicit cyber activities, and deepening our cooperation including on economic, clean energy, and technological issues. The United States and Japan also remain committed to advancing trilateral cooperation with Australia to ensure a peaceful and stable region.

We reaffirm our commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea in accordance with relevant UNSC resolutions. We strongly condemn North Korea’s continued development of its ballistic missile program—including through launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) and space launch vehicles using ballistic missile technologies—which poses a grave threat to peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and beyond. We call on North Korea to respond to continued, genuine offers to return to diplomacy without preconditions. We call on all UN Member States to fully implement all relevant UNSC resolutions, especially in light of Russia’s recent veto. We urge North Korea to cease illicit activities that generate revenue for its unlawful ballistic missile and weapons of mass destruction programs, including malicious cyber activities. President Biden also reaffirms U.S. commitment to the immediate resolution of the abductions issue, and the two sides commit to continuing joint efforts to promote respect for human rights in North Korea.

We continue to stand together in firm opposition to Russia’s brutal war of aggression against Ukraine, its strikes against Ukraine’s infrastructure and the terror of Russian occupation. We are committed to continuing to impose severe sanctions on Russia and provide unwavering support for Ukraine. Together, we reiterate our call on Russia to immediately, completely, and unconditionally withdraw its forces from within the internationally recognized borders of Ukraine. Any threat or use of nuclear weapons in the context of its war of aggression against Ukraine by Russia is unacceptable. We also express serious concerns about growing North Korea-Russia military cooperation, which is supporting Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and threatens to undermine peace and stability in Northeast Asia as well as the global non-proliferation regime.

As the linkages between the Euro-Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific regions have become stronger than ever, our two countries look forward to continuing to work together to enhance Japan-North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and NATO-Indo-Pacific Four partnerships.

We once again unequivocally condemn the terror attacks by Hamas and others on October 7 of last year, and reaffirm Israel’s right to defend itself and its people consistent with international law. At the same time, we express our deep concern over the critical humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. We affirm the imperative of securing the release of all hostages held by Hamas, and emphasize that the deal to release hostages would bring an immediate and prolonged ceasefire in Gaza. We affirm the imperative of realizing an immediate and sustained ceasefire in Gaza over a period of at least six weeks as part of a deal that would release hostages held by Hamas and allow for delivery of essential additional humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in need. We underscore the urgent need to significantly increase deliveries of life-saving humanitarian assistance throughout Gaza and the crucial need to prevent regional escalation. We reiterate the importance of complying with international law, including international humanitarian law, as applicable, including with regard to the protection of civilians. We remain committed to an independent Palestinian state with Israel’s security guaranteed as part of a two-state solution that enables both Israelis and Palestinians to live in a just, lasting, and secure peace.

We reaffirm the importance of supporting inclusive growth and sustainable development in Latin America and the Caribbean. We continue to enhance policy coordination in the region, in particular on Haiti and Venezuela. We also recognize that promoting the stability and security for Haiti is one of the most pressing challenges in the Western Hemisphere, and we continue to support Haiti in restoring democratic order.

We also support African aspirations for peace, stability, and prosperity based on the rule of law. We continue to work together to support the democratic process and economic growth through our respective efforts, including our cooperation with African countries, Regional Economic Communities, the African Union, and multilateral organizations.

The United States and Japan are resolved to achieve a world without nuclear weapons through realistic and pragmatic approaches. It is critical that the overall decline in global nuclear arsenals achieved since the end of the Cold War continues and not be reversed, and the PRC’s accelerating build-up of its nuclear arsenal without transparency nor meaningful dialogue poses a concern to global and regional stability. We reaffirm the importance of upholding the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) as the cornerstone of the global nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime and for the pursuit of peaceful uses of nuclear energy. In promoting this universal goal of achieving a world without nuclear weapons, Japan’s “Hiroshima Action Plan” and the “G7 Leaders’ Hiroshima Vision on Nuclear Disarmament” are welcome contributions. The two leaders also welcomed the U.S. announcement to join the Japan-led “Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty Friends” initiative. We reaffirm the indispensable role of the peaceful uses of nuclear technology, committing to fostering innovation and supporting the International Atomic Energy Agency’s efforts in upholding the highest standards of safety, security, and safeguards. President Biden commended Japan’s safe, responsible, and science-based discharge of Advanced Liquid Processing System treated water at Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station into the sea. Our two countries plan to launch the Fukushima Daiichi Decommissioning Partnership focusing on research cooperation for fuel debris retrieval.

To effectively address the myriad challenges outlined above, our global partnership is launching a Deputy Secretary of State/Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs-level dialogue involving our respective aid agencies to align our diplomatic and development efforts globally.

Fortifying People-to-People Ties

People-to-people exchanges are the most effective way to develop the future stewards of the U.S.-Japan relationship. In this regard, we recognize the achievements of exchange programs between our two countries, including the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme, KAKEHASHI Project, the Japan Foundation’s programs, and the U.S.-Japan Council’s TOMODACHI Initiative, and commit ourselves to providing more opportunities to meet today’s needs, including through enhanced subnational exchanges on critical issues such as climate and energy. We also recognize the important role civil society has played in strengthening the U.S.-Japan relationship over the past 170 years, including the 38 Japan-America Societies across the United States, the Asia Society, and the 29 America-Japan Societies across Japan.

Building on the Memorandum of Cooperation in Education signed between us on the sidelines of the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Hiroshima, today we announce our commitment to increase student mobility through the new $12 million “Mineta Ambassadors Program (MAP)” education exchange endowment administered by the U.S.-Japan Council for U.S. and Japanese high school and university students who will “map” the future of the relationship with support from Apple, the BlackRock Foundation, Toshizo Watanabe Foundation, and other founding donors. In this regard, we also welcome Japan’s new initiative to expand scholarship for Japanese students through the Japan Student Servicers Organization.

We recognize the significant contributions made by the binational Japan-U.S. Educational Commission (Fulbright Japan) over the past 72 years. We welcome recent changes to upgrade the program by reopening scholarships to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields for the first time in 50 years, with the first STEM students on track to participate in academic year 2025-26, as well as removing the tuition cap for Japanese Fulbright participants to attract the highest quality students and researchers.

Celebrating the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Mansfield Fellowship Program, we honor the legacy of Ambassador Mansfield’s contributions through the University of Montana Mansfield Center and Mansfield Foundation. The two leaders also welcome the creation of the Government of Japan endowed Mansfield Professor of Japanese and Indo-Pacific Affairs at the University of Montana.

Upon the 100th anniversary of the birth of the late Senator Daniel K. Inouye, who made incredible contributions to our bilateral relationship, we praise the efforts of Japanese American leaders to build a bridge between the two countries and to address common community issues, including through support to the U.S.-Japan Council’s newly launched TOMODACHI Kibou for Maui project. We also share the recognition on the importance of exchanges between our legislatures. We acknowledge the importance of language study, particularly in person, to develop long-term ties and announce a new Memorandum of Cooperation to increase opportunities for the number of exchange visitors from Japan to share their specialized knowledge of Japanese language and culture in the United States, as well as welcome efforts to expand the Japanese Language Education Assistant Program (J-LEAP).

The two leaders also affirm that women in leadership remain their focus and reaffirm our pledge to achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls in all their diversity. We welcome close cooperation on Women, Peace, and Security and Women’s Economic Empowerment initiatives and efforts to promote women and girls’ full, equal, and meaningful participation and leadership in public life.

Finally, we emphasize the need to build a diverse pipeline of future U.S.-Japan experts who understand and support the Alliance. Our peoples form the core of our Alliance, and we reaffirm our commitment to forge ever-closer bonds for generations to come.

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Through our shared and steadfast commitment, we have taken bold and courageous steps to bring the U.S.-Japan Alliance to unprecedented heights. In so doing, we have equipped our partnership to protect and advance peace, security, prosperity, and the rule of law across the Indo-Pacific and the globe so that everyone benefits. Today, we celebrate the enduring friendship among our peoples—and among ourselves—and pledge to continue our relentless efforts to ensure that our global partnership drives future peace and prosperity for generations to come.

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The post United States-Japan Joint Leaders’ Statement appeared first on The White House.

Today, President Biden welcomed Prime Minister Kishida of Japan for an Official Visit with State Dinner to celebrate the deep and historic ties between our two countries. This visit also reflects the upward trajectory of the U.S.-Japan Alliance as it evolves into a global partnership that promotes a shared vision of progress and prosperity for the future. The two leaders’ ambitious efforts span the depth and breadth of the Alliance to include cooperation on defense and security; space; advanced technology and economic cooperation; diplomacy and development; and people-to-people ties.

This bilaterally coordinated fact sheet provides an overview of political understandings that were affirmed or reaffirmed during the Official Visit with State Dinner, as well as plans for further cooperative activities between the United States and Japan.

DEFENSE AND SECURITY COOPERATION

Our defense and security ties form the core of our Alliance and are the cornerstone of regional peace and security. Recognizing that the Alliance has reached new heights, we plan to further bolster our defense and security cooperation to allow for greater coordination and integration.

Upgrading Alliance Command and Control: The United States and Japan intend to bilaterally upgrade our respective command and control frameworks to enable seamless integration of operations and capabilities and allow for greater interoperability and planning between U.S. and Japanese forces in peacetime and during contingencies. More effective U.S.-Japan Alliance command and control provides strengthened deterrence and promotes a free and open Indo-Pacific in the face of pressing regional security challenges. In order to support this initiative, they reaffirm to deepen Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) cooperation and Alliance information sharing capabilities, including through the Bilateral Information Analysis Cell.

Exploring Advanced Capabilities Cooperation under AUKUS Pillar II: Recognizing Japan’s strengths and the close bilateral defense partnerships with the AUKUS countries, AUKUS partners – Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States – are considering cooperation with Japan on AUKUS Pillar II advanced capability projects.

Bolstering Regional Networked Security: As our two countries deepen cooperation and coordination within the Alliance, we also look to expand our efforts to enhance regional security. The United States and Japan intend to work together toward our vision to cooperate on a networked air defense architecture, incorporating future capabilities with Australia. We will explore enhanced cooperation, including missile defense information sharing to counter growing air and missile threats. As our two countries look to ensure a secure and peaceful region, the United States and Japan plan to conduct deterrence operations to address escalatory or provocative activities around Japan.

Deepening U.S.-Japan Defense Industry Cooperation: The United States and Japan plan to leverage our respective industrial bases to establish an Alliance defense production capacity to meet the demand for critical capabilities over the long term. We will convene a Forum on Defense Industrial Cooperation, Acquisition and Sustainment (DICAS) co-led by the U.S. Department of Defense and Japan Ministry of Defense to identify priority areas for partnering U.S. and Japanese industry, including on co-development, co-production and co-sustainment. As a part of this mutually beneficial effort, 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. Our two countries also commit to establishing a working group to explore opportunities for future fighter pilot training and readiness, including AI and advanced simulators, and co-development and co-production of cutting-edge technologies such as common jet trainers to maintain combat-ready next-generation fighter airpower.

Leveraging Regional Maintenance and Repair Capabilities: The U.S. Department of Defense plans to work with U.S. Congress to authorize the U.S. Navy to use private shipyards to conduct maintenance and repairs of 90 days or less on U.S. Navy ships deployed to the Indo-Pacific from homeports in the United States, including Guam. Additionally, the U.S. Navy continues to review opportunities to conduct maintenance and repair of forward-deployed U.S. Navy ships at Japanese commercial shipyards. The United States and Japan plan to explore the possibility of conducting maintenance and repair on engines of Japan-based U.S. Air Force aircrafts including fourth generation fighters. Supporting the new DICAS’s oversight of co-sustainment, the two countries will convene the first Working Group for Ship Repair in Japan by June 2024 to coordinate future maintenance and repair opportunities

Enabling Japan’s Stand-off Defense and Counter-hypersonic Capabilities: The United States continues to support Japan’s capability development, highlighting the signing of the Letter of Offer and Acceptance for Japan to acquire U.S. Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles and the start of a training pipeline and ship modifications for Japan to acquire operational capability. The United States and Japan plan to also continue to pursue cooperative development of a Glide Phase Interceptor program to counter hypersonic threats, which aims to strengthen regional deterrence and build on long-standing missile defense cooperation between the two countries.

Advancing Trilateral Cooperation: The United States and Japan with Australia intend to seek to advance trilateral intelligence reconnaissance, and surveillance (ISR) operational coordination, including by identifying key capabilities to integrate into exercises and training. Building on the announcement at the Australia Official Visit in October 2023 to pursue trilateral cooperation with Japan on unmanned aerial systems (UAS), our three countries are pursuing cooperative opportunities in the rapidly emerging field of collaborative combat aircraft and autonomy. Continuing the momentum from the Camp David trilateral summit, we welcome progress on establishing an annual multidomain exercise between the United States, Japan, and the Republic of Korea (ROK). Recognizing the commitments made in the Atlantic Declaration and the Hiroshima Accord, and as the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic regions become ever more interlinked, both countries welcome the announcement of regular U.S.-Japan-UK trilateral exercises, beginning in 2025, as they enhance their shared and enduring security.

Deepening Cooperation on Information and Cyber Security: The two countries pledge to continue to deepen their cooperation on information and cyber security to ensure the Alliance stays ahead of growing threats and builds resilience in the information and communication technology (ICT) domain. They plan to also enhance their cooperation on the protection of critical infrastructure. The United States and Japan plan to establish a working group of relevant experts to develop an action plan on achieving mutual recognition on cybersecurity labelling schemes for Internet of Things.

Boosting our Humanitarian Response Capacity: Recognizing the importance of rapidly responding to frequent and severe climate change-related and other natural disasters, we plan to explore cooperation on the establishment of a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief hub in Japan.

Deepening U.S.-Japan Defense Science and Technology Cooperation:  The United States and Japan continue to evolve bilateral science and technology cooperation through the Defense Science and Technology (S&T) Cooperation Group (DSTCG). Co-chaired by the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (USD(R&E)) and the Commissioner for the Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency (ATLA), the DSTCG aims to better integrate and align U.S. and Japan defense S&T ecosystems.

Mitigating Impacts on Local Communities: In order to maintain deterrence and mitigate impact on local communities, we are firmly committed to the steady implementation of the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan in accordance with Okinawa Consolidation Plan, including the construction of the Futenma Replacement Facility at Henoko as the only solution that avoids the continued use of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma.

Cooperation on Environmental Issues: The United States and Japan affirm the importance of continued bilateral coordination on stable stationing of USFJ, including on environmental cooperation.

SPACE COOPERATION

As we further strengthen the foundation of our alliance, we also are looking to the future. Our two countries will continue to pioneer and lead on space exploration to include on the Moon.

Signing of Historic Lunar Surface Exploration Implementing Arrangement: The United States and Japan signed a historic implementing arrangement for human spaceflight cooperation on the Moon. 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 shared goal is fora Japanese national to be the first non-American astronaut to land on the Moon on a future Artemis mission. This pressurized rover is intended to enable astronauts to travel farther and work for longer periods on the lunar surface.

Negotiating a Space Technology Safeguards Agreement: The United States and Japan commenced negotiations on a space technology safeguards agreement which is designed to provide the legal and technical framework for U.S. commercial space launch from Japan. The space technology safeguards agreement has the potential to open new commercial opportunities in a range of advanced technologies related to space.

Expanding Space Science Cooperation: Building on the 2023 U.S.-Japan Framework Agreement, Japan will participate in NASA missions, including Dragonfly and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Dragonfly is NASA’s robotic mission to Saturn’s moon Titan to investigate its habitability and prebiotic chemistry wherein Japan will provide a seismometer to Dragonfly’s suite of scientific instruments. The Roman Space Telescope is NASA’s flagship next generation observatory; Japan will contribute hardware to support the Coronagraph instrument as well as ground station support. The United States and Japan plan to also collaborate on JAXA’s Next-generation Solar-observing Satellite, SOLAR-C, which is intended to investigate the mysteries of solar atmospheres by conducting spectroscopic observations of UV radiations from the Sun.

Deepening Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) Constellation Cooperation: The United States and Japan announced their intention to collaborate on a future Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) Hypersonic Glide Vehicle (HGV) detection and tracking constellation. This includes cooperation on demonstration, bilateral analysis, information sharing, and potential collaboration with the U.S. industrial base. The integration between U.S. and Japanese constellations of LEO satellites provides an opportunity to improve communications and increase the resilience of both nations’ space capabilities.

Enhancing Satellite Cooperation: The United States and Japan announced the completion of three new operational ground stations for Japan’s Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) in Alaska, California, and Guam. The new ground stations will enhance Japan’s ability to monitor and maintain the accuracy of QZSS. Furthermore, Japan will launch two QZSS satellites hosting payloads from the Department of Defense by March 2026.

ECONOMIC, TECHNOLOGY, AND CLIMATE COOPERATION

Technology innovation will drive the alliance in the 21st century. Our two countries pledge to continue to work closely together on critical and emerging technologies such as AI, quantum, semiconductors, and clean energy. Our enhanced collaboration and investment in these technologies provide opportunities for greater ties and prosperity for both of our countries as we seek to secure our economic and technological futures.

Economic Cooperation

Major Commercial Deals: The private sector in both of our countries recognize the incredible opportunities and promise of growing our commercial ties, especially in areas such as critical and emerging technologies. We welcome the establishment of a Japan Innovation Campus supporting Japanese startups in Silicon Valley and the “Global Startup Campus” in Tokyo, and support accelerating investment in our two countries to foster innovation. We also welcome the following major new and recent commercial deals, among the many, that demonstrate our strong and vibrant economic ties:

Private Sector Investment

• Microsoft has announced it will invest $2.9 billion over the next two years in Japan in artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing and data centers, an expanded digital skilling program to train more than three million people, the founding of a Microsoft Research lab in Japan, and cybersecurity cooperation with the Government of Japan to enhance Japan’s cybersecurity resilience.
• Google plans to invest $1 billion in digital connectivity for North Pacific Connect, which expands the Pacific Connect Initiative, with NEC, to improve digital communications infrastructure between the United States, Japan, and Pacific Island Nations.
• Daiichi Sankyo intends to invest $350 million in constructing a new manufacturing building, laboratory and warehouse at its facility in New Albany, Ohio. Daiichi Sankyo estimates the creation of 900 jobs across the United States over three years.
• Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced it will invest approximately $15 billion in Japan by 2027 to expand existing cloud infrastructure to serve as the backbone for AI and other digital services in the country. AWS estimates this planned investment could contribute up to $37 billion to Japan’s GDP and support an estimated average of more than 30,500 full-time equivalent jobs in local Japanese businesses each year.
• Toyota has announced an additional investment of nearly $8 billion that it expects will add an estimated 3,000 more jobs to increase capacity to support battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles battery production in Greensboro, North Carolina.  This is Toyota’s first automotive battery plant in North America, and the plant’s total investment is now nearly $13.9 billion; Toyota expects it will create an estimated 5,100 jobs.
• Honda Aircraft Company has announced an additional investment of $55.7 million for production of its new HondaJet 2600 model in North Carolina. It brings the total investment in the HondaJet business in North Carolina to $573.4 million. UBE Corporation has invested $500 million in its Waggaman, Louisiana, a Justice40 community, electrolyte solvent facility project for batteries which it expects to create 60 new jobs.
• Yaskawa Electric Corporation is investing approximately $200 million in new manufacturing facilities for robotics and semiconductor motion solutions in the states of Wisconsin and Ohio which is expected to employ about 1,750 workers and increase the Yaskawa footprint in the United States by about 25 percent.
• MITSUI E&S, its U.S.-based subsidiary PACECO, and Brookfield are working together to reestablish final assembly of port cranes in California. This is the first time since 1989 that the United States has had this capacity, and it is expected to contribute to securing the safety of U.S. port infrastructure.
• FUJIFILM Corporation announced an investment of $200 million in two U.S. subsidiaries to expand its global cell therapy contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) capabilities. The investments are earmarked for Madison, Wisconsin and Thousand Oaks, California, and FUJIFILM estimates the investment could create up to 160 new jobs.

Collaborative Government-Private Sector Engagement:

• General Atomics Aeronautical Systems plans to provide two MQ-9B SeaGuardian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) which will add high performance and surveillance ability to the Japan Coast Guard (JCG). This project will provide $152 million in U.S. exports and is expected to support 700 U.S. jobs.
• As the first foreign company named as a trusted partner in Japan’s Moonshot program of Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) on quantum computers, Infleqtion will collaborate with the Japanese Institute of Molecular Science (IMS) on developing a powerful quantum computer using Infleqtion’s quantum technology.
• Quantinuum, a U.S. quantum computer manufacturer, plans to provide RIKEN, a Government of Japan National Research and Development Agency, exclusive access to and use of a quantum computer for a period of five years – representing $50 million in quantum service exports.

Enhancing Financial Sector Cooperation: The United States and Japan are committed to strengthening our partnership to bolster cross-border investment and support financial stability. To this end, we intend to organize a roundtable this year, convening public and private sector stakeholders to discuss capital markets integration, identify potential key reforms, and bring to bear expertise from our respective financial sectors and regulatory authorities.

Engaging on Sustainable Investment: The United States and Japan pledge to continue to collaborate and build upon their foundation of successful public-private sector engagement. This initiative enables dialogues and forums through which to share best practices and promote mutually beneficial opportunities for U.S. and Japanese businesses in the areas of sustainable investment, risk management, and corporate value creation. By the end of next year, we intend to jointly host one or more roundtables to connect U.S. and Japanese private sector companies with investment opportunities while promoting sustainable value creation (SX).

Building Transparent, Resilient, and Sustainable Supply Chains: The United States and Japan welcome the initiation of discussions between the U.S. Department of Commerce and Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) under the framework of the U.S.-Japan Economic Policy Consultative Committee (our economic “2+2”) to accelerate joint efforts to address supply chain challenges and opportunities in mutually determined strategic sectors, such as current-generation and mature-node (“legacy”) semiconductors, along with like-minded countries, as appropriate. Both sides seek to cooperate to address supply chain vulnerabilities, such as those posed by non-market policies and practices, including by gaining a better comprehension of such vulnerabilities in strategic sectors.

Critical and Emerging Technology and Innovation

Strengthening Artificial Intelligence Research Collaboration: Building on the landmark university-corporate strategic partnerships in quantum computing and semiconductor engineering launched on the sidelines of the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Hiroshima, the United States and Japan welcome a new $110 million joint Artificial Intelligence partnership with the University of Washington and University of Tsukuba as well as Carnegie Mellon University and Keio University through funding from NVIDIA, Arm, and Amazon, Microsoft, and a consortium of Japanese companies. This innovative partnership is expected to advance AI research and development and enhance U.S.-Japan global leadership in cutting-edge technology. We welcome the initiation of AI and quantum technology cooperation between Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) and NVIDIA, exploring the potential cooperation in the field of computing and development. We welcome the new Project Arrangement on high-performance computing and AI between the U.S. Department of Energy and the Japan’s Ministry of Education Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) and the new Memorandum of Understanding on AI for Science between Argonne National Laboratory and RIKEN to foster collaboration. We welcome cooperation between U.S. and Japanese companies toward the development of foundation models for generative AI, including contribution of NVIDIA’s GPUs to Japanese computational resources companies such as Sakura Internet and Softbank and other computational resources from Google and Microsoft to Japanese AI foundation models development companies.

Launching Quantum Technology Partnerships: To promote our bilateral industrial cooperation on quantum computing, the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) intends to partner with Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) to build robust supply chains for quantum technology and related standardization. The University of Chicago, the University of Tokyo, and Seoul National University established a partnership to train a quantum workforce and strengthen their collective competitiveness in the global economy.

Enhancing Cooperation on Semiconductors: Building on our long history of cooperation on semiconductor technology, we welcome the initiation of discussions among Japan’s Leading-Edge Semiconductor Technology Center (LSTC) and U.S. research initiatives, such as the U.S. National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC) and the U.S. National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program (NAPMP), toward the creation of an agenda for U.S.- Japan cooperation, including an R&D roadmap and workforce development. We welcome robust U.S.-Japan private sector cooperation, especially in next-generation semiconductors and advanced packaging. U.S. and Japanese companies are exploring the wide range of possibilities available through optical semiconductors through partnerships like the Global Innovative Optical and Wireless Networks (IOWN) Forum.

The U.S. Department of Labor plans to invite Japanese counterparts in the semiconductor sector to participate in technical workshops with the U.S. private sector and educational institutions to discuss optimal ways to train the next generation of designers, builders, and professionals in advanced semiconductor research and manufacturing.

Strengthening Cooperation for Safe, Secure and Trustworthy AI: The United States and Japan are committed to further advancing the Hiroshima AI Process by expanding support from partner governments and AI actors. The United States and Japan acknowledged and plan to support each other in establishing national AI Safety Institutes and committed to future collaboration, including on interoperable standards, methods, and evaluations for AI safety. A crosswalk of Japan’s AI Guidelines for Business with the NIST AI Risk Management Framework is currently underway and is designed to promote interoperability in our policy frameworks for AI.

Reducing AI Risks and Harms from Synthetic Content: The United States and Japan pledge to cooperate on reducing risks and harms of AI-generated content. The countries commit to provide transparency to the public, to the extent possible and appropriate, by authenticating and labeling official government produced content as well as detecting and identifying AI-generated content and content altered or manipulated by AI. Both governments plan to take steps independently and cooperatively on technical research and standards development.

Establishing a New Science and Technology Partnership: The United States and Japan announce a partnership to catalyze innovation, facilitate knowledge exchange, and promote entrepreneurial endeavors that contribute to the advancement of science and technology, and through the State Department’s Global Innovation through Science and Technology (GIST) program. The United States and Japan also endorse joint efforts among their universities and companies to foster human capital for the purpose of increasing governability on digital and emerging technologies under the initiative of U.S.-Japan Digital Innovation Hub and Advanced Technology Workshop

Expanding National Science Foundation Collaboration: The United States and Japan welcome the signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation between the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) to partner on NSF’s Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program. This entrepreneurship training program aims to strengthen lab to market transition by helping researchers more effectively target their discoveries to customer needs. Through the Global Centers program, NSF has committed $25 million in awards for bioeconomy research and JST will support at least three awards. The two agencies also plan to collaborate on research on the designing materials which will revolutionize our engineering future.

Strengthening International Joint Research in Scientific and Technological Fields: The United States and Japan welcomed strengthening collaboration between the national research institutes and universities in science, technology, and innovation as well as the exchange of researchers through joint research to promote U.S.-Japan talent mobility and circulation, such as the Adopting Sustainable Partnerships for Innovative Research Ecosystem (ASPIRE) in eight areas: AI and information, biotechnology, energy, materials, quantum, semiconductors, telecommunications, and healthcare. We welcome further bilateral collaboration on global ocean observation and Arctic research. The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and Fukushima Institute for Research, Education and Innovation (F-REI) are pursuing a Memorandum of Cooperation to establish a collaborative relationship to increase opportunities for joint research in select topics including energy, robotics, radiation science, nuclear disaster response, and agriculture.

Promoting Open and Interoperable Approaches to Telecommunications Networks: As the world becomes more interconnected, the United States and Japan pledge to continue to promote open, standards-based approaches to telecommunications networks that are interoperable, secure, and multi-vendor in nature. The United States and Japan intend to explore opportunities to promote Open RAN commercialization in third countries, including Indo-Pacific countries. The United States and Japan commit to continuing to engage both bilaterally and with like-minded partner countries through fora such as the Quad.

Climate and Clean Energy

Expanding U.S.-Japan Clean Energy and Climate Cooperation: The United States and Japan are launching a new high-level dialogue on our two countries’ implementation of respective domestic measures and maximize respective synergies and impacts, including the Inflation Reduction Act and Green Transformation (GX) Promotion Strategy, aimed at accelerating energy transition progress this decade, promoting complementary and innovative clean energy supply chains, and improving industrial competitiveness.  For the advancement of the U.S.-Japan Climate Partnership, recalling relevant CMA decisions, we further plan to aggressively implement our 2030 nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and develop ambitious 2035 NDCs in line with a 1.5C warming limit. We encourage all major economies to submit bold, 1.5C-aligned 2035 NDCs that reflect economy-wide absolute reduction targets including all greenhouse gases, sectors, and categories, and commit to prioritizing concrete and timely steps towards the goal of accelerating the phase-out of domestic unabated coal power. The United States and Japan intend to also work together to secure a successful outcome at the 29th UN Climate Change Conference on a new collective quantified goal that reflects a realistic increment and broadened contributor base.

Expanding Quality Infrastructure Investment: The United States and Japan plan to work together and with partner countries in strategic economic corridors on fostering investment under the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGI), including cooperation in the Indo-Pacific through the PGI-IPEF InvestmentAccelerator. Our two countrieswill continue to seek cooperation on critical minerals and other projects, including those along the PGI Lobito Corridor. The United States and Japan have worked to establish a Blue Dot Network Secretariat at the OECD to certify quality infrastructure projects.

Building Resilient Critical Mineral Supply Chains: The United States and Japan resolve to explore joint projects, including through the Minerals Security Partnership and the Partnership for Resilient and Inclusive Supply-chain Enhancement (RISE), including ones that diversify key supply chains of critical minerals, and support recycling efforts for electrical and electronic scrap in the United States, Japan, and other Indo-Pacific likeminded partners. To that end, the United States welcomes the MOU between the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC) and La Générale des Carrières et des Mines (GECAMINES) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in alignment with our shared commitment with PGI’s development of the Lobito Corridor.

The United States and Japan intend to continue facilitating $170 million in annual U.S. e-scrap exports to Japan for environmentally sound recycling under the OECD Council Decision on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Wastes Destined for Recovery Operations and strengthen cooperation through facilitating a policy dialogue on increasing circularity of critical minerals and raw materials, which are indispensable for decarbonization and reducing negative environmental impacts.

Deepening Energy Cooperation: Both of our countries recognize the importance of clean energy as we look to combat the effects of climate change and lay the groundwork for clean and resilient economic growth this century. The United States and Japan announced the U.S.-Japan Strategic Partnership to Accelerate Fusion Energy Demonstration and Commercialization. The United States and Japan reaffirmed their commitment to accelerating the global transition to zero-emissions energy and working with other fossil energy importers and producers to minimize methane emissions across the fossil energy value chain to the fullest extent practicable. Both countries also intend to support the establishment of green shipping corridors including a new grain corridor to support global efforts to decarbonize the international shipping sector.

Today we announce Japan joins as the first international collaborator of the U.S. Floating Offshore Wind Shot. Japan recognizes the ambition of the U.S. Floating Offshore Wind Shot, which aims to reduce the cost of floating offshore wind in deep waters by more than 70 percent and reach 15GW of U.S. domestic deployment by 2035. Through the partnership, the United States and Japan will collaborate to make progress towards global ambition in line with the U.S. Floating Offshore Wind Shot, taking into consideration national circumstances, to accelerate breakthroughs across engineering, manufacturing, and other innovation areas that dramatically reduce the cost of floating offshore wind in deep waters by 2035. The United States and Japan announced they would report publicly on progress each year through CEESI. To work towards global ambition, Japan will contribute with its efforts of “the Vision for Offshore Wind Industry” and approximately 120 billion yen through the Green Innovation Fund. The United States also welcomes Japan’s newly-launched industry platform, the Floating Offshore Wind Technology Research Association (FLOWRA), aiming to reduce costs and achieve mass production of floating offshore wind through collaboration with academia. The United States will continue its efforts under the Department of Energy’s Strategy to Advance Offshore Wind Energy to leverage more than $5.8 billion in cumulative public and private sector supply chain investments under the Biden-Harris Administration. We also intend to advance research and development for perovskite solar cell technology through the Green Innovation Fund and the Perovskite PV Accelerator for Commercializing Technologies (PACT) Center, led by Sandia National Laboratory.

Expanding Infrastructure to Support Clean Energy: Our two nations acknowledge the need to expand and modernize power grids and energy infrastructure to keep pace with our ambitious goals for renewable energy deployment. We plan to explore means to boost investment in our power grids and share best practices for grid modernization. We also look to expand the use of market-based power purchase agreements by companies and industries to assist access to clean energy, including from both large nuclear reactors and advanced and small modular reactors (A/SMRs), as they attempt to meet their own decarbonization goals and drive innovation in power intensive industries such as Artificial Intelligence, quantum computing, and data centers.

Partnering to Deploy Safe and Secure Nuclear Energy: The United States and Japan recognize the crucial role of civil nuclear power to meet our overarching climate goals, as affirmed in our participation in the COP28 pledge to triple globally installed nuclear energy by 2050. In pursuit of this vision, the United States applauds the Prime Minister’s plan to restart nuclear reactors to meet its 2030 decarbonization goals. Our two countries acknowledge the transformational opportunities presented through our continued cooperation on A/SMRs, and affirm our continued partnership on joint efforts both bilaterally and multilaterally to deploy A/SMRs this decade.

Our two countries plan to launch the Fukushima Daiichi Decommissioning partnership with Tokyo Electric Power Company and U.S. national laboratories to deepen research cooperation for the steady implementation of decommissioning the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, especially for fuel debris retrieval. Recognizing the important role of nuclear energy to both accelerate the energy transition and enhance energy security, the United States and Japan also resolve to promote public-private investment in enriched uranium production capacity free from Russian material.

Improving Methane Emissions Data: The United States and Japan are collaborating, including with other international partners, to share greenhouse gas emissions satellite observations data and make it freely available to the public, including providing greenhouse gas information to governments in low- and middle-income countries to support the development of climate mitigation policies. The United States and Japan intend to also leverage existing efforts, such as the International Methane Emissions Observatory, to develop and disseminate accurate, transparent methane emissions data to support methane reduction interventions globally.

Carbon Management: The United States and Japan reaffirm our commitment to the Carbon Management Challenge, Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS) Initiative, and to the Mission Innovation CDR Launchpad in the pursuit of developing carbon management technologies to support achieving the Paris Agreement goals. Additionally, the United States commits to supporting collaboration with Japanese counterparts to evaluate the potential for cross-border carbon dioxide transport and storage hubs between Alaska and Japan. For example, the United States is pursuing carbon dioxide shipping feasibility studies and tools such as life cycle assessment and technoeconomic analysis that can aid in this goal. We welcome the progress of ongoing projects in carbon capture, utilization, and storage, as well as carbon recycling, between U.S. and Japanese companies. On e-methane, Japanese companies have signed Letters of Intent (LOIs) with U.S. companies to avoid CO2 double counting.

Sustainable Aviation Fuel: The United States and Japan reaffirm our joint aim of decarbonizing the aviation industry, including the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. We recognize the importance of realizing the U.S. Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) Grand Challenge 2030 goal of three billion gallons of SAF that, compared to a petroleum-based jet fuel baseline, will provide a significant reduction in lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions, as well as Japan’s 2030 target of replacing 10% of the fuel consumed by Japanese airlines with SAF. To support achieving these goals, the United States pledges to seek to support the increase of globally available supplies of SAFs or feedstocks, including those that are ethanol-based, and commit to working in ICAO to identify solutions that accurately measure and actively reduce the carbon intensity of global SAF feedstocks and products. Simultaneously, Japan commits to advancing R&D efforts to develop and commercialize SAF technologies, including Alcohol-to-Jet (ATJ), through support measures by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Collaborating on Hydrogen and its Derivatives, and Geothermal: We welcome the progress of collaboration between U.S. and Japanese companies on building hydrogen hubs, and shared expectations for further cooperation to build a large-scale and resilient global supply chains based on carbon intensity and to expand utilization of hydrogen. A Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) on Geothermal Energy was signed between DOE-METI at the G7 Ministers’ Meeting on Climate, Energy and Environment in Sapporo in April 2023. Through this MOC, the United States and Japan have been exploring next steps for collaboration.

Investing in U.S. Infrastructure: The U.S. Department of Transportation and Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism welcomed Amtrak’s leadership of the Texas Central High Speed Rail Project, utilizing Shinkansen technologies, which was recently selected for the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) Corridor Identification and Development grant program. The successful completion of development efforts and other requirements would position the project for potential future funding and financing opportunities.

Biotechnology, Biopharmaceutical, and Health-Related Cooperation

Tackling Cancer Together: In alignment with the Biden Cancer Moonshot to end cancer as we know it, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Japan’s Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA) intend to collaborate and exchange information on oncology drug products. Specifically, under initiatives Project Nozomi and Project Orbis, FDA and PMDA intend to work to enable earlier access to cancer medication for patients and hold discussions on future drug development, including multiregional clinical trials and ways to prevent drug shortages.

Advancing Pharmaceutical Innovation: The United States and Japan welcome the Japan’s Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA)’s intent to establish an office in the Washington, D.C. metro area. This office provides opportunities to enhance PMDA’s cooperation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and facilitate information sharing with private industry.

Opening of CDC Regional Office: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) opened a Regional Office for East Asia and the Pacific in Tokyo in February. This new regional office provides support to 26 countries and territories in the region to strengthen core global health security capacities and collaboration to improve detection, rapid response to disease threats, and knowledge and information exchange.

Global Health Collaboration:  The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue to discuss ways to advance shared global health priorities.

Expanding Biotechnology and Healthcare Cooperation: The United States and Japan welcome the launch of a new U.S.-Japan biotechnology and healthcare discussion, focused on promoting responsible development, protecting key technologies, and establishing reliable and secure supply chains. The exchange prioritizes efforts to advance industrial competitiveness, including joint events in close partnership with relevant U.S. and Japanese ministries and agencies, as well as academic and private sector partners. It also bolsters work to prioritize the safe, secure, and responsible development and use of emerging biotechnology through close policy coordination.

DIPLOMACY, DEVELOPMENT, AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE

As global leaders, the United States and Japan remain committed to ensuring a peaceful and stable Indo-Pacific region with a conviction that the security in Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions are interlinked. Beyond these regions, our two countries recognize the global challenges we jointly face and reaffirm commitments made at the G7 Hiroshima Summit in upholding the rule of law, which protects all nations, especially the vulnerable, and continued cooperation with partners beyond the G7. To that end, we intend to launch a new strategic dialogue to coordinate global diplomacy and development efforts and to be held at the Deputy Secretary of State/Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs level. Our two countries remain committed to supporting Ukraine’s right to self-defense and its long-term security and economic recovery. The United States has contributed $74.6 billion in humanitarian, development, military, and economic assistance to Ukraine, and Japan has been providing continuous support to Ukraine, a commitment of which adds up to $12.1 billion in total. We are also committed to addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Japan has provided approximately $107 million in support of the Palestinian people and the United States has contributed $180 million in humanitarian assistance for civilians in Gaza since October 7, 2023. Moreover, the United States and Japan underscore the importance and urgency of the situation in Haiti and reiterate our support to the mandate of the UN-authorized Multinational Security Support (MSS) Mission to Haiti.

Investing in the Indo-Pacific:  The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) have renewed an MOU that enables greater collaboration in financing projects in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.

The United States and Japan acknowledge the importance of improving the Amata Kabua International Airport in the Republic of Marshall Island (RMI) in support of sustaining RMI’s economy.

Building on the U.S.-Australia joint funding commitment for subsea cables last October, the United States and Japan will collaborate with like-minded partners to build trusted and more resilient networks and intend to contribute funds to provide subsea cables in the Pacific region, including $16 million towards subsea cable systems for Tuvalu, which will connect it for the first time in history, as well as the Federated States of Micronesia. In addition, Taiwan also plans to provide funding to deliver connectivity to Tuvalu.

In southeast Asia, the United States has announced $5 million in new funding to the Japan-U.S.-Mekong Power Partnership (JUMPP), which puts the U.S. commitment to $35 million since JUMPP’s launch in 2019. The $5 million helps fulfill Vice President Harris’ announcement that she plans to work with U.S. Congress to harness up to $20 million in new JUMPP funding. The U.S. and Japan’s work in the Mekong region has supported over 100 technical cooperation projects to expand cross-border power trade and clean energy integration in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Strengthening the International Financial Architecture: The United States and Japan intend to continue our collaboration to strengthen the international financial architecture and support developing countries to promote our shared values. This includes advancing the MDB Evolution agenda, planned contributions that would enable more than $30 billion in new lending headroom at the World Bank to support low- and middle-income countries in addressing global challenges, securing ambitious International Development Association and Asian Development Fund replenishments, addressing debt vulnerabilities that are holding back low- and middle-income countries’ growth potential and ability to invest in critical areas like climate and development including through advancing debt treatment through the G20 Common Framework and enhancing debt transparency, and solidifying the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as a quota-based institution at the center of the global financial safety net.

Deepening our Commitment to Nuclear Disarmament and Non-proliferation and Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy: President Biden commended Japan’s safe, responsible, and science-based discharge of Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) treated water into the sea. The two leaders welcomed that the U.S. Department of Energy and Japan’s MEXT have removed all excess highly enriched uranium (HEU) from the Kyoto University Critical Assembly and Japan Atomic Energy Agency’s Japan Materials Testing Reactor Critical Assembly to the United States and a new joint commitment to convert the Kindai University Teaching and Research Reactor from HEU to low-enriched uranium fuel and to return its HEU to the United States. The United States also joined the Japan-led “Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty (FMCT) Friends” effort to demonstrate our shared commitment toward disarmament.

Combatting Gender-Based Online Harassment and Abuse: Recognizing the importance of partnerships to combat technology-facilitated gender-based violence, including the Global Partnership for Action on Gender-Based Online Harassment and Abuse, the United States and Japan concur to strengthen our work at the nexus of gender equality and digital technology. These efforts underscore our commitments to advance our shared values, including human rights and gender equality, and further Women, Peace, and Security goals in an increasingly technology-dependent world.

Countering Foreign Information Manipulation: The United States and Japan are committed to working together and last year committed to the joint U.S.-Japan Memorandum of Cooperation on Countering Foreign Information Manipulation. The United States and Japan recognize that foreign information manipulation poses a challenge to the Indo-Pacific region and beyond and warrants enhanced bilateral and multilateral cooperation.

Partnership to Combat Commercial Spyware: Japan has joined the Joint Statement on Efforts to Counter the Proliferation and Misuse of Commercial Spyware. The United States and Japan are committed to implementing domestic controls and building the international coalition to combat the misuse of such surveillance tools that pose a threat to our mutual national security interests and that enable human rights abuses.

Countering the Growing Threat of Transnational Repression: The United States and Japan are committed to reinforcing our partnership on countering transnational repression. To effectively address the rising concern of transnational repression globally it will take a coordinated multilateral response. 

Bolstering Whole-of-Society Resilience: The United States and Japan welcome the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience, Japan’s MEXT, and NVIDIA’s efforts on joint research and development on nation-scale resilience.

Building Resilient and Responsible Seafood Supply Chains: Our two countries pledge to work together, as part of the efforts under the Task Force on the Promotion of Human Rights and International Labor Standards in Supply Chains, led by the U.S. Trade Representative and METI, to explore ways to combat forced labor and advance responsible labor practices in seafood supply chains. We also intend to build resilient seafood supply chains through strengthened trade channels and increased business opportunities.

Strengthening Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture: To enhance existing food security efforts, the United States and Japan recently launched the U.S.-Japan Dialogue on Sustainable Agriculture, and we plan to continue joint research on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural production. Together, we intend to promote new technologies and climate-smart production practices to build sustainable and resilient agriculture and food systems able to feed a growing global population while conserving natural resources and mitigating climate change. As an example, the United States and Japan intend to be founding contributors to the Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils seed and soil health research This research helps bolster diverse food production in developing partner countries.

PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE TIES

Our people-to-people ties serve as the bedrock of our Alliance. Civil society has been one of the driving factors of our close relationship over the past 170 years. Our two countries recognize the legacy of Ambassador Mansfield, the longest-serving U.S. Ambassador to Japan and his incredible contributions to the relationship through the Mansfield Center and Mansfield Foundation.

The success of the Alliance is due to the bonds between our peoples, and our two governments recognize the achievements of organizations and programs, such as Fulbright Japan, the JET Programme, the Japan Foundation, the KAKEHASHI Project, and the U.S.-Japan Council’s TOMODACHI Initiative, Asia Kakehashi Project +(Plus), and their contributions to the alliance. Our two countries celebrate the unique and historic role of the 38 Japan-America Societies located throughout the United States and 29 America-Japan Societies across Japan.

This year is the U.S.-Japan Tourism Year 2024, ahead of Japan hosting the 2025 World Expo in Osaka. For the first time since 1988, the United States approved federal funding to support the design, build, and operation of the U.S. Pavilion at the World Expo.

Our two countries remain steadfast in our commitment to foster close connections, and to promote close ties between current changemakers and future generations of leaders.

Boosting Educational Exchanges: The United States and Japan announce a new $12 million “Mineta Ambassadors Program (MAP)” education exchange endowment administered by the U.S.-Japan Council for U.S. and Japanese high school and university students who will “map” the future of the relationship, with support from Apple, the BlackRock Foundation, Toshizo Watanabe Foundation, and other founding donors. As a long-term investment in U.S.-Japan relations, the endowment plans to increase exchange opportunities in both directions. In this regard, we also welcome Japan’s new initiative to expand scholarship for Japanese students through the Japan Student Servicers Organization. We also recognize the importance of educational cooperation among high schools and universities between the two countries and enhance mid-to-long term educational exchange, including those seeking degree certificates or professional training and internship opportunities. The two governments also announce the restart of STEM scholarships in Japan via the Fulbright Program for the first time in 50 years, ensuring our flagship education exchange program supports our most important economic security priorities, and removal of the tuition cap for Japanese Fulbright participants.

Engaging the Next Generation of Leaders: President Biden and Prime Minister Kishida applaud the Japanese American National Museum’s new Toshizo Watanabe Democracy Fellowship to promote global democracy and strengthen U.S.-Japan ties. Beginning with an eight-person pilot program this summer, this new Fellowship is designed to provide opportunities for Japan’s future leaders to experience the United States, network with Japanese leaders and others who seek to strengthen democracy and the bilateral relationship and develop a cohort of up-and-coming professionals who have to promise to become advocates for stable and secure democracies in the years ahead.

We applaud the efforts of the U.S.-Japan Council’s exchange program of local high school students and leadership/professionals for Maui reconstruction. We also welcome Japan’s intention to broaden the scope of the invitation program for Japanese American leaders to raise their next generation.

Promoting Exchanges among Professionals: We welcomed the initiative of the Japan Foundation that is promoting exchanges among professionals and practitioners addressing common issues facing the Indo-Pacific region, such as climate change and disaster management, and we look forward to further development in the future. The two leaders also welcomed the establishment of the Mansfield Professor of Japanese and Indo-Pacific affairs.

Women, Peace and Security (WPS):  The Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Parliamentarians’ Network Japan hosted U.S. WPS Caucus Member Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove and Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues Geeta Rao Gupta on April 3-4 for a legislative exchange to reaffirm our shared commitment to promote WPS globally.

Increasing Exchange Opportunities for Japanese Language Specialists in the United States:  The United States and Japan signed a memorandum of cooperation to expand exchange opportunities for Japanese language specialists to observe U.S. institutions and methods in the United States and share their specialized knowledge of Japanese language education with U.S. colleagues. We also emphasize the value of in-person learning for Japanese language in the U.S. and welcome efforts to expand the Japanese Language Education Assistant Program (J-LEAP).

Enhancing Cultural and Educational Interchange: The United States and Japan reaffirmed their confidence in the role of the U.S.-Japan Conference on Cultural and Educational Interchange (CULCON) in further enhancing people-to-people ties. The United States and Japan also welcomed the inaugural U.S.-Japan High Level Policy Dialogue on Education and instruct the respective departments and ministries to accelerate the preparation of the second dialogue to examine and follow up on the issues raised above. We also acknowledge the importance of cultural exchanges including through promoting creative and cultural content industries such as in music, movies, animation and manga.

Strengthening Tourism Ties:  To coincide with the U.S.-Japan Tourism Year, Airbnb has announced it will commit $1 million to an International Visitors Leadership Program to bring Japanese tourism professionals to the United States to study best practices on rural tourism and support local economies in each nation.

The United States also welcomes Japan’s intention to support the National Park Service as it begins a multi-year rehabilitation project around the Tidal Basin and West Potomac Park. Each year, millions of visitors from around the United States and indeed the world visit the National Mall for the Cherry Blossom Festival.  These cherry trees, first gifted by the people of Japan to the United States in 1912, are an enduring reminder of the close bonds of friendship between Americans and Japanese.

Expanding Global Entry Program: The United States welcomes Japan’s expected full membership this year in Customs and Border Protection’s Global Entry program, a Trusted Traveler Program that allows expedited clearance for pre-approved, low-risk travelers upon arrival at U.S. airports. Japan’s full inclusion in Global Entry provides opportunity to bolster our countries’ security while facilitating travel and commerce between our nations.

Strengthening the Resilience of Democracy: President Biden and Prime Minister Kishida welcomed the launch of the U.S.-Japan Strategic Dialogue of Democratic Resilience and reaffirmed their commitment through the second round of the Strategic Dialogue on March 8, 2024.

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South Lawn

10:14 A.M. EDT

PRESIDENT BIDEN: Mr. Prime Minister, Mrs. Kishida, welcome. Welcome, welcome, welcome. On behalf of Jill and me, the Vice President and the Second Gentleman, and all the American people, welcome to the White House.

Sixty-four years ago, our two nations signed a Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security. President Eisenhower said his goal was to establish an indestructible partnership between our countries. Today, the world can see that goal has been achieved and that partnership between us is unbreakable.

The alliance between Japan and the United States is a cornerstone of peace, security, prosperity in the — in the Indo-Pacific and around the world. Ours is truly a global partnership. For that, Mr. Prime Minister Kishida, I thank you.

The Prime Minister is a visionary and courageous leader. When Russia began its brutal invasion of Ukraine two years ago, he did not hesitate to condemn, sanction, and isolate Russia and provide billions in assistance to Ukraine.

Under his leadership, Japan set in motion profound changes in its defense policies and its capabilities. Now — now our two countries are building a stronger defense partnership and a stronger Indo-Pa- — stronger Indo-Pacific than ever before.

As President of the G7 last year, the Prime Minister rallied Japan’s partners to take action on nuclear disarmament, global poverty, economic resilience, and other critical issues that shape peace, security, and opportunity for billions of people around the world.

And last year, the Prime Minister took one of the boldest steps yet when he and President Yoon of the Republic of Korea decided to heal old wounds and start a new chapter of friendship. Our historic summit that I hosted at Camp David marked the start of an entirely new era infused with hope, shared values, and focused relentlessly forward because these leaders know that the division that defined us in the past do not need to define us in the future.

That has also been the story of Japan and the United States. 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.

Today, our economic relationship is one of the strongest and deepest in the world. Our democracies are beacons of freedom, shining across the globe. And the ties of friendship, family connect the Japanese and American people as a source of joy, meaning — and meaning for millions — millions of our people.

Japanese Americans have made historic contributions across American life for generations. That includes my mentor and one of my closest friends ever in the United States Senate, Senator Daniel Inouye — a decorated war hero, a U.S. senator for nearly 50 years, and a recipient of the Medal of Honor.

Yesterday, Prime Minister laid a wreath at the National Japanese American Memorial in honor of Danny Inouye’s 100th birthday, something I truly appreciate you having done. (Applause.)

Mr. Prime Minister, you and I have been entrusted with protecting and advancing the monumental alliance between our two great democracies. Together, we made it closer, stronger, and more effective than ever before in history.

I thank you, Mr. Prime Minister, for your partnership, your leadership, and your personal friendship.

Let me end with this. It’s spring in Washington. The sun is shining. And every spring, cherry blossoms bloom across the city thanks to a gift from Japan of 3,000 cherry trees over a century ago. People travel all over our country and the world to see these magni- — these magnificent blossoms.

Last night, the Prime Minister and Mrs. Kishida, Jill and I, took a stroll down the driveway across the lawn here at the White House to visit three cherry blossom trees. One that Jill and Mrs. Kishida planted together a year ago. The other two are among the 250 new trees that Japan has given the United States to honor our 250th birthday two years from now. They’ll be planted at the Tidal Basin, not far from the Martin Luther King Memorial. And like our friendship, these trees are timeless, inspiring, and thriving.

May God bless the Japanese and American people. And may God protect our troops.

Mr. Prime Minister, Mr. Kishida, welcome back to the White House. (Applause.) The floor is yours.

PRIME MINISTER KISHIDA: (As interpreted.) Thank you.

PRESIDENT BIDEN: The trouble is, we’ve become good friends. (Laughs.)

Please.

AIDE: Distinguished guests, the Prime Minister of Japan. (Applause.)

PRIME MINISTER KISHIDA: (As interpreted.) Mr. President, Dr. Biden, distinguished guests. I thank President Biden for the warm words of welcome. I am very pleased to see that the cherry tree that my wife, Yuko, planted with Dr. Biden last year is growing beautifully.

The cherry trees along the Potomac River are a symbol of the friendship between Japan and the United States. These Japanese-born cherry trees have been sounding the arrival of spring to the city every year for over 110 years. Just as the local residents have cherished and protected these cherry trees, the Japan-U.S. relationship has been supported and nurtured by the many people who love each other’s country.

The development of the Japan-U.S. relationship is the fruit of the historical cooperation between the two countries. Along with the trust between the leaders and cooperation between our governments, numerous people-to-people exchanges in ranging fields have shaped the friendship between our countries.

The cooperation between our countries, bound together by common values and commitments, has become a global one with the scope and depth covering outer space and the deep sea.

Today, the world faces more challenges and difficulties than ever before. As a global partner, Japan will join hands with our American friends and, together, we will lead the way in tackling the challenges of the Indo-Pacific region and the world while tirelessly developing the relationship between our countries with a view to the world 10 and even 100 years from now.

In Japan, it is said that the Somei Yoshino, which are the cherry trees planted in this area, have a lifespan of about 60 years. However, thanks to the efforts of the cherry tree guardians, the trees have shown their strong vitality, blooming beautifully for more than 100 years without waning.

When I heard that some of the trees would be replaced, as President Biden mentioned earlier, I decided to send 250 new cherry trees to commemorate the upcoming 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. (Applause.)

The friendship between Japan and the United States will continue to grow and bloom around the world, thriving on friendship, respect, and trust of the people of both countries. I am confident that the cherry-blossom-like bond of the Japan-U.S. alliance will continue to grow even thicker and stronger here, in the Indo-Pacific, and in all corners of the world.

Mr. President, Dr. Biden, distinguished guests, thank you, once again, for your warm welcome, hospitality, and friendship.

(In English.) Thank you so much. (Applause.)

END 10:32 A.M. EDT

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The Eisenhower Executive Office Building

As a writing teacher, one of my favorite places in any building is the library. So, it’s an honor to be able to welcome Mrs. Kishida – Yuko – and all of you to this beautiful space of learning and discovery.

Because the ties that bind our nations are not just forged by heads of state. They’re created people to people, heart to heart, as we share ideas and pieces of our culture that make our souls sing.

Last year, in Japan, Yuko and I met with incredible young people who were doing just that – looking toward the future – toward ways of doing good, not just for their communities, but for the world.

So, today, I’ve invited some amazing high school students here who are bringing our countries closer – studying Japanese, hosting Japanese students, and even traveling to Japan through cultural exchange programs. 

And we’re joined by Japanese American poet, Professor Kimiko Hahn, who, earlier this morning, led a poetry workshop at the White House with these students, focused on an ancient form of Japanese poetry. I’m excited to hear what you’ve created together. 

Art shows the contours of our sorrows and joys, so that we know we aren’t alone. It brings us back to the beauty and humanity in every moment.

That’s the power of what you’ve done today.

With every line of poetry, you enter into a conversation with the world – helping us reach toward each other, so we can understand one another and imagine our bright tomorrows together.

You – like the young people we met in Japan – are the leaders of today and tomorrow. The keepers of our partnership. The dreamers of a better world.

And I can’t wait to see what you do next.

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During Black Maternal Health Week, we recommit to ending the maternal health crisis that is taking the lives of far too many of our Nation’s mothers.

Women in America are dying at a higher rate from pregnancy-related causes than women in any other developed nation.  Black women face even more risk and are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women.  That is in no small part because of a long history of systemic racism and bias.  Studies show that when Black women suffer from severe injuries or pregnancy complications or simply ask for assistance, they are often dismissed or ignored in the health care settings that are supposed to care for them.  People of color — including expecting mothers — also bear the brunt of environmental injustices like air and water pollution, which worsen health outcomes.  Too often, Black mothers lack access to safe and secure housing, affordable transportation, and affordable, healthy food.  This is unjust and unacceptable.

That is why my Administration has worked to address this crisis from the very beginning.  Vice President Kamala Harris came into office as a key leader on maternal health and continues to fight for improved maternal health outcomes, elevating the issue nationally and convening experts and activists to find solutions.  My Administration’s first piece of historic legislation — the American Rescue Plan — gave States the option to provide a full year of postpartum coverage to women on Medicaid, increasing it from just 60 days previously.  Now, 45 States, Washington, D.C., and the United States Virgin Islands provide a full year of this critical care.  We also made coverage under the Affordable Care Act more affordable, saving millions of families an average of $800 per year on health insurance premiums.

My Administration also released the Blueprint for Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis, which outlines actions the Federal Government will take to combat maternal mortality and improve maternal health.  To start, we created a new “Birthing-Friendly” hospital designation that highlights hospitals and health systems that offer high-quality maternal care — ensuring that expecting mothers know where to go to get the help they need.  To find out which facilities are “Birthing-Friendly,” go to medicare.gov/care-compare/. 

Mental health care is health care — it is so important that women have access to it throughout pregnancy and beyond.  My Administration launched the Maternal Mental Health Hotline so that the one in five women in America who experience maternal mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, or substance use disorder can get the support they need.  New and expecting mothers can call 1-833-TLC-MAMA — a confidential, 24-hour, toll-free number — to connect with professional counselors.  Tens of thousands of women have already taken advantage of this valuable hotline, and we know that being able to access support in times of need literally saves lives.  Additionally, we are supporting and expanding maternal mental health screening programs, including for postpartum depression.  We are partnering with community-based organizations to help pregnant women access services that treat substance use disorder and support victims of domestic violence.

My Administration is working to grow and diversify the maternal health workforce to better serve expecting mothers by helping health care providers hire and train physicians, certified midwives, doulas, and community health workers.  I also signed legislation to ensure employers make reasonable accommodations for pregnant and nursing mothers, who deserve job security and to have their workplace rights respected by expanding the use of break time and access to private spaces for millions of nursing parents.  I also remain committed to addressing the long-standing inequities that Black communities have faced and that continue to damage the health and wellness of Black mothers.  For example, we have been working to end discrimination in housing, make public transit more accessible to everyone no matter where they live, expand access to healthy and affordable food, and tackle dangerous environmental injustices that take the biggest toll on families from communities of color.

There is still so much to do to ensure safety and dignity in pregnancy and childbirth.  This week, we extend our gratitude to all the maternal health care workers, who are on the frontlines of this work.  Together, I know that we can make America the best country in the world to have a baby.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 11 through April 17, 2024, as Black Maternal Health Week.  I call upon all Americans to raise awareness of the state of Black maternal health in the United States by understanding the consequences of institutional racism; recognizing the scope of this problem and the need for urgent solutions; amplifying the voices and experiences of Black women, families, and communities; and committing to building a world in which Black women do not have to fear for their safety, well-being, dignity, or lives before, during, and after pregnancy.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this tenth day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-eighth.

                             JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

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Today’s report shows inflation has fallen more than 60% from its peak, but we have more to do to lower costs for hardworking families. Prices are still too high for housing and groceries, even as prices for key household items like milk and eggs are lower than a year ago. I have a plan to lower costs for housing—by building and renovating more than 2 million homes—and I’m calling on corporations including grocery retailers to use record profits to reduce prices.

Fighting inflation remains my top economic priority. We’re making progress: wages are rising faster than prices, incomes are higher than before the pandemic, and unemployment has remained below 4% for the longest stretch in 50 years. But we have more to do: my agenda is lowering costs for prescription drugs, health care, student debt, and hidden junk fees. Rather than proposing solutions for hardworking families, Congressional Republicans want to slash taxes for billionaires and big corporations, while helping special interests and Big Pharma raise prices. I won’t let them.

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National Security Council

Via Teleconference

(April 9, 2024)

5:40 P.M. EDT

MODERATOR: Thank you. And hi, everyone. Thank you again for joining today’s background call to preview the official visit of Prime Minister Kishida of Japan.

Today’s call is on background. Speakers on today’s call will be attributed as senior administration officials.

On today’s call we have [senior administration official], [senior administration official], and [senior administration official]. Again, today’s call is on background, attributed to senior administration officials. And the call will be held under embargo until tomorrow at 5:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time.

By participating in today’s call, you are agreeing to these ground rules.

I will now turn the call over to [senior administration official].

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Thank you. And thank you all very much for joining us today. It’s really a pleasure and honor to be with you all.

Let me, if I can, first place this visit in a larger context. I think it is undeniable that at the conclusion of this visit we will judge it to be a remarkable and historic summit. And it’s long in the making. We’ve been working on this kind of summit and state visit, frankly, for years. Our two leaders have met over a dozen times in a number of capacities. Prime Minister Kishida graciously hosted President Biden for an official visit as part of the G7 engagements in Hiroshima. And they’ve met on a number of occasions, engaging on the most critical issues before us.

I will say that what we’ve seen specifically is what was largely a regional alliance, and important alliance undeniably, but now a global partnership that I think could be judged as if not our most important global alliance, then among the most important. And I think that reality will be on full display over the course of the next few days.

I do want to just take a moment, if I may, just to commend. These summits are enormously challenging endeavors. Lots of spinning plates and engagements with huge stakes at every turn. And I just want to commend the two people that I’m on the call with today. [Senior administration official] has been the spearhead of this effort, driving forward on what we call deliverables. And I would just underscore that that list is over 70; it’s not uncommon to occasionally have a dozen, maybe 20, at the outside. This is probably the largest set of substantial, significant deliverables that we’ve seen of its kind. And [senior administration official] and her team have helped drive that forward.

I will also say my friend and colleague [senior administration official] has basically set a new standard for what it means to be an activist, determined, a passionate advocate for a relationship between two countries. And what he’s done in the U.S.-Japan context is no short of remarkable.

Now, I will say Prime Minister Kishida arrived with his team, members of governments from the Diet and the business community, yesterday. It’s an appropriate time of year as we celebrate the Cherry Blossom Festival starting this weekend.

We will have a number of engagements. [Senior administration officials] will run through them. But I think what you will see is a huge number of deliverables in the security arena, but I do want to underscore that the progress and future-oriented stance of our alliance that is on display in Haiti, in the Ukraine, in Southeast Asia, in the Pacific — everywhere that American purpose is being put to the test, Japan is by our side. You will see that clearly animated in our deliverables.

We are working to build stronger bonds in technology, in joint investment running each way, programming that advances our joint interests in the Pacific and Southeast Asia, and clear initiatives with respect to people-to-people.

I think, in many respects, this relationship and what you will see is the fundamental validation of President Biden’s Indo-Pacific strategy, which seeks to elevate the role of partners and allies in concert with us as we seek to keep an open, secure, and vital Indo-Pacific.

I do just want to underscore just a couple of things as we go forward. The initiatives are both sophisticated and down to earth.

I do want to just mention one particular thing. I think the two most important gifts that countries have given the United States over the course of our existence: one would be the Statue of Liberty, and the second might be the gift, 110 years ago from Japan, of the cherry trees around the Tidal Basin.

This is a tribute to both [senior administration official] and others on the Japanese side. I think they noted a few weeks ago that, sadly, several hundred of those trees would have to be felled in order to do some work around the Tidal Basin. The Japanese immediately understood the significance of that; offered us to help provide saplings when the time is right to replace these felled trees, to signal their continuing friendship and partnership.

I think we’ll find that it’s initiatives like this that may not be as significant as apparently as new arrangements on military command structures or joint co-production on the military side, but they’re deeply significant to our peoples. And we are grateful. Prime Minister Kishida will have a planting ceremony tomorrow on the Mall to basically underscore his commitment to this.

I’d like to turn it over now to [senior administration official] to basically give us a blow by blow about how we arrived here, what he thinks are the big moving pieces that are significant, both in the Indo-Pacific and globally, as we take the U.S.-Japan relationship to the next level. Thank you.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Thanks, [senior administration official]. I want to emphasize and underscore something [senior administration official] said, because in the last 60 years, you would define this relationship between the United States and Japan, since it got formalized in 1960, as one of alliance protection. I think this state visit kind of ends that era and defines the next period of time, this alliance projection from alliance protection.

And in the last two years that allowed this transition to occur, the Prime Minister changed five to six major 70-year-old policies that have always been on the books. Japan has gone from a 1 percent cap on defense spending to 2 percent of GDP. And that was before there was even a tank on the Ukrainian border. And it’s going to become the third-largest military spender in the world.

They’ve acquired Tomahawk counter-strike capability, which will have a real effectiveness to the credibility of our collective deterrence.

Third, they’ve lifted the cap on defense technology export.

Fourth, with us they have raised the ROK-Japan-U.S. relationship, as experienced in Camp David, to a level of stability that shifted the strategic landscape in the Indo-Pacific as one of (inaudible) main pillars has been that the ROK, Japan, and the United States (inaudible), all three get on the same page.

Fifth is, the day that Russia invaded Ukraine, they ended their policy with Russia and decided to throw all their weight behind values and ideals of (inaudible) democratic democracies and understand that Russia had to be sanctioned because this cannot be permissible behavior, become a norm. The raw exercise of power was committed and accepted and became the new norm.

In that same time, I think then what has that committed for the United States? One is: For the first time ever, we’re going to change the force structure that we have in Japan so it actually can make the most of their new joint operations center that’s part of the defense budget and have a real capacity and capability to integrate our forces. Second is: Now with the cap on the defense export being lifted, we’re going to have a military industrial council that will evaluate where we can (inaudible) and co-produce defense weapons. And so, Japan’s industrial capacity and strength that had always been on the sidelines will come to bear on one of the weak points right now that we have, which is we don’t have really the bandwidth on the defense production capacity that we need for our strategic applications.

There will also be pieces as related to the integrated missile defense system with Australia, the United States, and Japan.

The second column, which is — in the last two years, we’ve signed five separate space agreements with Japan: Artemis, Gateway, Mars, International Space Station framework, and there’ll be a major agreement to the lunar exploration with Japan as a full partner, from expending major resources with their NASA equivalent, which is JAXA.

And then building on the people-to-people, two initiatives. There’ll be a joint AI research between Carnegie Mellon and Keio University, their major private university in Tokyo. That will be in the AI area, funded by both a series of Japanese companies and Microsoft. And then AI — a separate but a different part of AI — between the University of Washington in Washington State and Tsukuba University. And that’s going to be with Amazon and NVIDIA at $50 million.

And then a third kind of people-to-people, which is Norman Mineta scholarship, $12 million, to fund students in their junior year of high school to go live overseas and study — the United States students go to Japan, and Japan high school students come to the United States. The Norm Mineta scholarship.

But to me, each of these, in the end of the day, are — all the particulars add up to a major shift where Japan, which used to be, you know, only worried about the perimeters of their island, projecting not only into the region and the alliance and its value system, but being a full global partner on whatever happens in Europe, the Mideast, and also the Indo-Pacific.

And so, this state visit comes at a point that the relationship is shifting to a higher and different level, and having the building blocks and the deliverables that underscore each one of those pieces.

[Senior administration official]?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Thanks, [senior administration official].

[Senior administration officials] put out a lot on the table here, so I’ll just a saw a few words to wrap up our topper, and then I look forward to taking your questions.

There’s certainly a lot more we can dig into in our defense and security deliverables, where there’s some really (inaudible) advances taking place within the U.S.-Japan alliance, some of which are some of the most consequential moves we will have taken in decades.

But as [senior administration official] just indicated, what we’re really doing here is culminating three years of fast and furious work that would have been unimaginable just a few years ago and, frankly, unimaginable with a leader other than Fumio Kishida, but that has truly taken this alliance to the next level, modernized it, and now put us on a pathway to even bigger things.

And we’ll be taking our next logical steps tomorrow and also lighting the pathway for U.S.-Japan alliance managers for many years to come.

But a broader point that I think I’ll leave it with and conclude these opening remarks is the fact that the President’s visit with Prime Minister Kishida tomorrow, as well as the trilat that he’ll be holding with Prime Minister Kishida and President Marcos of the Philippines later this week, is both a really important and consequential set of meetings in and of themselves, but it’s also a proving ground for the President’s theory of case when it comes to his entire Indo-Pacific strategy.

When the President took office over three years ago, his theory of the case was that if the United States reinvested in its alliances and partnerships in the Indo-Pacific and built collective capacity as we put it in our Indo-Pacific strategy, along with others, that those allies and partners would step up alongside in ways that made us much better able, much better equipped to accomplish our objectives in this critical region.

And nowhere is this theory better proven out than in our alliance with Japan, where Prime Minister Kishida has stepped up and stepped out into the world more than anyone really ever could have imagined.

So that’s what you’ll see on display tomorrow. We have a lot to celebrate, and we’re excited for the pathway ahead. I’ll stop there.

MODERATOR: Great. Thank you all for opening remarks. Moderator, I think we are ready to move into the Q&A portion.

OPERATOR: Moving to our first caller. Michael Shear, your line is unmuted. Please go ahead.

Q Hey all. Thanks for doing the call. I appreciate it. Two quick questions.

One, can you describe what, if any, message President Trump [sic] is going to deliver to the Prime Minister about U.S. Steel and his concerns about a potential acquisition?

And two, to what extent are you all — do you all feel an urgency to cement, I think as [senior administration official] called it, this next level of relationship, given the coming election and the fears in — you know, sort of abroad in many places, but maybe in Japan too, about the possibility that President Trump could come back into office and all that could mean to the region and to the alliance?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: So I’ll start maybe, and then let — I think you inadvertently said what would President Trump have to say. I think you probably meant —

Q Oh, sorry. President Biden. Sorry.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Probably inadvertently reveals your state of mind as well, though.

So, look, on the second part of that question, I can say this: Look, I think we all recognize that there is anxiety in capitals, uncertainty about what the nature of the future of U.S. policy will look like, whether we will remain as engaged in internationalist pursuits and the kinds of bipartisan foreign policy efforts which have animated the last period, both after the Second World War and after the Cold War. There are questions and concerns there.

I think what we believe, and the people on this call have been deeply engaged with this, is that by strengthening and validating the concept of load-bearing bilateral and multilateral relationships — countries that are prepared to lend a hand and work with us and, in some cases, leading efforts — we think that validates that philosophy and creates a kind of momentum of its own.

And so, I think it would be fair to say that, you know, there are a number of responses internationally. I think some countries have sought to lie low. Others recognize that the best approach is to double down and engage deeply with the United States. And we’re seeking to do that.

And I think the Japan experience and what we’ve seen with Prime Minister Kishida is a case study in recognizing that their best possible way forward is a deep, substantial, continuing engagement with the United States.

[Senior administration official]?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I’ll pass to [senior administration official] actually on this one.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Mike, let me just deal with the second question, and then I’ll go to the first.

On the second question: Look, there is a tactic and a strategic objective by China, which is to isolate the Philippines, what they’re doing on the coast guard, or to isolate Japan, what they’re doing with the embargo on fish.

The idea of switching to a multilateral lattice-like strategic architecture is then to flip the script and isolate China. When you have, like we did this week, the United States, Japan, Australia, and the Philippines doing an exercise together, when you have the trilat on Thursday, the country that’s isolated is China, not the Philippines.

And in every practice that we’re doing — the strategic, diplomatic, military exercises of doing it multinational is that the end result is that China’s attempt to intimidate one country, make an example of that country and intimidate the others in the neighborhood, flips the script and China is the isolated and the outlier in the neighborhood (inaudible). So that’s number one.

And number two is: You know, I’ve seen it upfront with now three presidents. Not only the trilateral on Thursday, but the one at Camp David with the ROK — if they have trust in America and then personal trust in President Biden, or (inaudible) president, other leaders are going to go past just clearing the bar. They’re going to stretch themselves, spend political capital because it means something and comes back to value.

So the real answer is: Some of this is standalone and will stand the test of time. Building on it requires somebody that’s invested in it. So there’s also risk that’s straight up, because people are putting resources — the Australians, South Korea — ROK, Japan, the Philippines — in the United States because they trust us, they want to work with us, and they know that we are the right kind of counterweight to an untethered China.

Then to the first question on Nippon Steel: Look, the relationship between the United States and Japan is far bigger and more significant than a single commercial deal.

Six weeks ago, the United States gave Mitsui, a Japanese company, a $20 billion deal to build a crane factory here in the United States and replace all our port cranes throughout the United States. Nothing says trusted ally like a $20 billion contract with a Japanese company.

And in 2021, outside companies or foreign companies were looking at Toshiba. Japan said, on national security interests, they didn’t want that to go forward.

So I guess would just basically understand — everybody understands where we are. Everybody understands the significance of not only this visit but also the relationship. And it’s larger than a single effort. And I say that as somebody who started his political career back in — national political career in 1992 working for Bill Clinton.

We’re in a different place fundamentally. And I just think that this single commercial transaction does not define not only the visit, but the relationship and its potential and what is actually delivering in the region or across the globe. And both leaders (inaudible).

OPERATOR: Moving to the next caller in the queue.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: And for the record, I was talking about President Biden, not President Trump.

OPERATOR: Moving to the next caller. Demetri Sevastopulo from Financial Times. Your line is unmuted. Please go ahead.

Q Thanks. I have two questions. The first is for [senior administration official]. The other day at CNAS, you said Japan had made some progress implementing information security systems improvements. How far do you think they are from getting to a place where the U.S. and the Five Eyes are kind of comfortable with their level of security?

And then, for any of you, what sort of the things that you’re doing right now with Japan, including restructuring the U.S. command in Japan, are complete? Do you think we’re at a point where Japan could actually fight alongside the U.S. if there was a contingency over Taiwan? Or is that still a long way away?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I’ll start and then [senior administration officials] jump in.

So, look, I think it’s fair to say that our Japanese partners and allies have taken substantial steps on information security and procedures that protect the most sensitive of information potentially shared between United States and Japan.

As I indicated, there is still more work to do. I think we believe that there are legislative steps, as well as executive actions, that are possible.

You will see over the course of the next few days that we are stepping up our intelligence cooperation. This is an area that [senior administration official] has played a key role in, in particularly ensuring on key initiatives that the two countries are in sync and in close coordination on key information. And I think some of those steps have been deeply successful. And we’re seeking to build on those as we go forward.

I think what you will see over the course of the next couple of days are major steps on the security side, highlighting some cyber-related efforts and also our fundamental goal of being able to share the most important information with our closest ally, Japan.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Thanks, [senior administration official]. You know, the only thing I’ll had on the Taiwan bit is that the U.S. and Japan have carefully honed public (inaudible) on Taiwan that we worked through together a few years ago. And we expect you’ll see language that’s quite similar on this visit.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I got nothing to add.

OPERATOR: Moving to the next caller in queue. Ken Moriyasu from Nikkei Asia. Please go ahead. Your line is unmuted.

Q Hello, thank you very much. I think [senior administration official] said that Japan, until now, was only worried about the parameters of the island but now they will be a full global partner on whatever happens in Europe. This seems like a very drastic statement. What is your expectation of the engagement in places like Ukraine and Gaza? Will it be just political support, or do you expect some kind of security cooperation as well? Thank you.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Ken, you’ve been following this, so it’s not a surprise. Day one they’ve been a full partner on the sanctions. There hasn’t been any equivocation there. They’ve called — their efforts as chair of the G7 has been, as it relates to Ukraine, been incredible in the sense they’re, step by step, measuring all the sanctions, as recently as including Arctic 2.

The second piece of that is there’s no greater contributor to the energy infrastructure that’s being targeted by Putin than Japan, with Mitsubishi and (inaudible) Kawasaki building the major transformers there. I think it’s close to six or — (inaudible) on the exact dollars, but I think it’s close to $6- or $7 billion.

They have used their position and assistance. They just re-upped funding as it relates to food relief in Gaza.

So they are a global partner. And what I meant, and I stand by, is the last period of time has all been just about the defense of Japan. They are stepping beyond that role into — and they did it in March 2022 when there was a U.N. resolution condemning Russia’s vote. They not only voted the correct way; they helped corral 8 out of the 10 ASEAN countries to all vote in favor of condemning Russia for the (inaudible), co-sponsors of the resolution. And that was Japan’s initiative. So, yeah, a global partner.

OPERATOR: Moving to the next caller. (Inaudible) with Kyoto News. Your line is unmuted. Please go ahead.

Q Hi, thank you for taking my question. I would like to ask for AUKUS pillar two, which is likely to be one of the topics at the meeting tomorrow. Is there any specific area in which Japan could bring significant contribution to enforce AUKUS pillar two? Is it AI hypersonic capability or other (inaudible)? Would you give us some explanation? Thank you.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I’m happy to take this one.

You know, we think that Japan stands to potentially bring a great deal to AUKUS pillar two. And as you’re tracking, we will be noting tomorrow that the AUKUS partners are excited to begin their consultations with Japan towards possible inclusion in pillar two.

But I do want to note, number one, that Japan is one of several additional partners that the AUKUS partners are closely considering partnering with under this pillar two (inaudible). And number two, that we expect the consultations will take a period of months, and it will take a portion of the 2024 calendar year before the AUKUS two pillar — the AUKUS pillar two vision is fully fleshed out, that is with us being able to assign specific partners to specific pillar two projects.

So there’s no doubt that Japan brings a great deal to the table. That’s why we are announcing that AUKUS partners want to begin consultations with Tokyo as soon as possible. But we have a way to go before we’re able to share some of the details that you just raised.

OPERATOR: Moving to the next caller. Jennifer Jacobs from Bloomberg News. Your line is unmuted. Please go ahead.

Q Hey, thanks. I heard your answer to the New York Times question about Nippon Steel. So you guys are saying that you do think that the topic of the steel deal will come up between the President and the Prime Minister?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: No.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: No.

Q Thank you.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: (Inaudible) to predict, but no, we don’t, because I think that the relationship is much bigger, and I think that everybody understands everybody’s position. I was trying to give you reference points for both Mitsui and Toshiba as kind of — as to kind of appreciate where this is.

OPERATOR: Moving to the next caller. Ryo Kiyomiya from the Asahi Shimbun. Your line is unmuted. Please go ahead.

Q Thank you so much for this opportunity. My question is about the change of the (inaudible) in Japan. First, could you please clear us on expected timeline of deciding and establishing new U.S. force structure in Japan? And also, do expect a drastic change of posture in Japan, such as increasing the number of U.S. personnel of the U.S. (inaudible) or sending of (inaudible) to Japan?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I’m happy to take this one as well.

We’ll be announcing tomorrow our commitment to modernizing our alliance partner posture, including our command and control, in Japan. But I do expect it will take a period of months for the details of those changes to be worked through.

Of course, we’re doing this in close partnership with the government of Japan, with the aim of making ourselves a very neat fit for the new joint operations command that Japanese friends are standing (inaudible). Secretary of Defense Austin and our new INDOPACOM commander will work through the details of what exactly that modernized approach is going to look like.

But tomorrow, not only will the leaders commit to this — undertaking this project together, a project which, as [senior administration official] highlighted, is in many ways one of the biggest changes to take place in the U.S.-Japan alliance since 1960, but they will direct our two-plus-two ministerial structure to take on the responsibility of executing these changes (inaudible).

So this is all to say: Stay tuned. It’ll take a period of months to work through. But we have not only a commitment but the structure to get these details hashed out very soon.

OPERATOR: Moving to the next caller. Prashant Jha from Hindustan Times. Your line is unmuted. Please go ahead.

Q Hi. My question is for [senior administration official]. One of the things that you said was this is a validation of the Indo-Pacific strategy of the President, where he assigns this role to partners, and partners step up. I was wondering how you’re thinking of India within the context of this deepening military, defense, security partnership with your treaty allies in East Asia. Do you see India as a part of this network? We know that, bilaterally, India’s relations have improved with the U.S. as well as with these countries. Do you see it as a part of a wider network as well? Thank you.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: First of all, thank you very much for the question. I do — and I understand the way you asked it, but I think it’s important to just underscore: I don’t think this is about the United States assigning roles to countries. I think it is much more about working in partnership with likeminded and other states who share common views about what should be upheld on the global stage with respect to key features of the global operating system that I think we’ve all benefited from.

I think if you ask the President, one of the things that he’s proudest of is his efforts to build a stronger relationship between the United States and India. And I do believe, both in the Indo-Pacific and the Indian Ocean, and on key issues like technology, the United States and India are working more closely together than ever before.

And I would simply say that I think the U.S.-India relationship is trending substantially in a positive direction and that our level of engagement across every possible vector — security, intelligence, technology, people-to-people — has excelled.

And I think the point that [senior administration official] made is not only have our relations with India improved in a bilateral context, but it is also the case that India’s partnership with other countries, working with us and then working just independently, has also stepped up substantially. I would say, in many respects, engagement with India is some of the most — the most desired kinds of engagements on the global stage, and we’ve seen this with a variety of key players.

I’ll be in India next week to celebrate elements of our bilateral relationship, compare notes on the Indo-Pacific, and also talk about next steps in technology cooperation. We think these are all effective, prudent elements of taking the U.S.-India relationship to the next level.

And, yes, I do believe, perhaps in the past, on both sides, there perhaps had been some ambivalence or some uncertainty. I see very little of that now. I see leaders on both sides who are all in on the promise and prospects of the other, recognize the potential of this relationship that is deeply supported by an activist diaspora community here, and technology and other firms who understand the potential of India.

And I would just simply say that I see the engagement with India as central to everything that we’re seeking to do on the global stage. And I would simply say that I think, in many respects, it will be our most important bilateral partnership heading into the latter parts of the 21st century.

So, thank you for that.

OPERATOR: Moving to our next caller. Sang-ho Song from Yonhap News Agency. Your line is unmuted. Please go ahead.

Q Thank you for doing this. I have a question for [senior administration official]. You talked about the transition from alliance protection to alliance projection. So can you elaborate further on what you actually meant by projection? Is it projection of power for global security?

And my second question is that: What kind of end state are you pursuing when it comes to the combined command structure? Are the United States and Japan pursuing these structures akin to the Combined Forces Command in South Korea between the U.S. Forces Korea and the (inaudible) military? Thank you.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, let me say about alliance projection: A lot of times, as you just did, it’s always defined as — or kind of narrowed down to defense. I actually see — if one of the things we want is credible deterrence, we should widen the definition of what deterrence looks like.

And I think both the trilateral meeting with the Philippine president, the trilateral meeting and gathering that happened at Camp David, that’s about credible deterrence. As much as what Japan is doing individually and then in collaboration with us on a series of exercises, it’s about the credibility of deterrence. What they’re negotiating with the Philippines, the reciprocal agreement, that’s part of deterrence.

So the wider definition is, in my view, what matters here. And when I say about alliance projection in the region — when it’s either the Quad or either one of the trilats, or whether it’s a military exercise with the Philippines, the constant in all this by our side is Japan. That did not exist 5 years ago, 10 years ago, 15 years ago, 20 years ago. It’s a different — this is the new norm. And the constant in both the diplomatic arena, the defense arena, or the development and economic arena, which will be a big part of what happens with the Philippines trilat, is Japan is the constant in this effort.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I would just add one other thing to [senior administration official] colleagues that — look, it should not be lost on you that this is our fifth state visit and state dinner. But four of the five — this is the crowning partnership of the Quad. And so, this suggests how the President views the Quad, how important it is, how central it has been to his vision of a deeper Indo-Pacific engagement. And at the heart of that, as [senior administration official] has indicated, is Japan. Everything that we’re doing of purpose on the global stage we’re doing with Japan.

Q Could I ask also about the command structure, the end state of this?

MODERATOR: Unfortunately, we have to conclude today’s call. I’d like to offer it up to [senior administration official] for any quick closing remarks here.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I’ll just speak briefly to that last question, which is to say, you know, the end state is that close integration and coordination of our forces, of the U.S. and Japan, in a way that’s appropriate for 21st century challenges. I think both of our countries has been clear that that’s the objective of our alliance modernization efforts. And we look forward to pursuing it in lockstep.

But zooming out, just back to sort of (inaudible) context of the week we’re having here, obviously we’ve been talking about, in a fair amount of detail, a number of these really substantial deliverables that are going to move our alliance forward in consequential ways.

But I want to bring us back to the fact that in addition to this state visit with Prime Minister Kishida — which, of course, in celebration of how much we’ve achieved in the last three years — we are also holding the first-ever trilateral leaders’ summit with President Marcos on Thursday. We’ll be back to share more on that tomorrow and to preview some of the outcomes then.

But when you take these two achievements together, these are critical parts of a much bigger picture in which the President’s vision, Jake Sullivan’s vision for how we do strategy in the Indo-Pacific is bearing itself out in real time.

You’re seeing a single treaty ally, who has always been one of the United States’ closest partners, stepping up in more consequential ways than anyone could have imagined. And another ally in the Philippines working more closely with us than (inaudible) the years. And the three of us together able to marshal resources towards common objectives in ways that weren’t even on the horizon two years ago.

So it really is an important week for (inaudible) in addition to our bilateral visit and the deliverables that we’re unveiling tomorrow. We’re grateful to all of you for the conversation today. And we look forward to talking about more soon.

MODERATOR: All right, thank you so much. And thank you all for joining today. Thank you to [senior administration official]. Thank you to [senior administration official].

I’d just like to remind everyone that this call is on background, attributed to senior administration officials, embargoed for tomorrow morning at 5:00 a.m.

I also wanted to flag for everyone that we will hold, for everyone’s planning purposes, another background call tomorrow afternoon, I believe at 3:00 p.m., to preview the trilateral summit of the U.S., Japan, and the Philippines. So, stay tuned for information about that.

And if you have any questions, feel free to reach out to myself or our team here at the NSC. Thank you very much.

6:22 P.M. EDT

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EPA Announces First-Ever National Standard to Address PFAS in Drinking Water, Delivers an Additional $1 Billion through President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda to Combat PFAS Pollution

President Biden believes every community has the right to clean, safe drinking water, free of pollutants that harm people’s health and wellbeing. That is why the President launched a comprehensive action plan and provided billions in funding to protect communities from toxic “forever chemicals” that are linked to a range of severe health problems, including cancers, liver and heart damage, and developmental impacts in children. Found in drinking water, soil, air, and our food supply, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) persist in the environment for long periods of time, posing a serious health threat across rural, suburban, and urban areas.

Today the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the first-ever national legally enforceable drinking water standard for PFAS, which will protect 100 million people from PFAS exposure, prevent tens of thousands of serious illnesses, and save lives. This action complements the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to combatting PFAS pollution and delivering clean water.

President Biden has secured historic levels of funding to meet this new standard. Today, the Biden-Harris Administration is also announcing an additional $1 billion through President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to help every state and territory fund PFAS detection and treatment systems to meet the new standard. This funding is part of the $9 billion in dedicated funding through the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to address PFAS and other emerging contaminants in drinking water – the largest-ever investment in tackling PFAS pollution. An additional $12 billion in funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law supports general drinking water investments, including PFAS treatment. The investments are part of the Justice40 Initiative, which aims to ensure that 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities.

These actions will help tackle PFAS pollution that has devastated communities like Oakdale, outside of St. Paul, Minnesota, where decades of PFAS-containing waste dumped by a chemical plant has contaminated the community’s drinking water. In this area, cancer was found to be a far more likely cause of death in children than in neighboring areas. The funding announced today will build on funding from the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that is already helping communities address PFAS contamination, including a $33 million award for Tucson, Arizona to treat its PFAS-contaminated drinking water wells.

This funding also builds on President Biden’s action plan to address PFAS pollution, safeguard public health, and advance environmental justice – all while advancing the Biden Cancer Moonshot goal of cutting the cancer death rate by at least half by 2047 and preventing cancer before it starts by protecting communities from known risks associated with PFAS exposure.

As the first-ever Safe Drinking Water Act standard for PFAS – and the first for any new contaminants since 1996 – this rule sets health safeguards and will require public water systems to monitor and reduce the levels of PFAS in our nation’s drinking water, and notify the public of any exceedances of those levels. The rule sets drinking water limits for five individual PFAS, including the most frequently found PFOA and PFOS. Because PFAS can often be found together in mixtures, EPA is also setting a limit for any combination of four PFAS, including GenX Chemicals. This standard will reduce PFAS exposure in our drinking water to the lowest levels that are feasible for effective nationwide implementation.

Today’s announcements advance President Biden’s broader commitment to deliver clean water for every American. The President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests over $50 billion to upgrade water infrastructure – the largest investment in clean water in American history. This includes a historic $15 billion to replace toxic lead pipes and protect children from brain damage, as part of President Biden’s goal of replacing every lead pipe in the country within a decade.

Recent Federal Actions to Protect Communities from PFAS

Under President Biden’s leadership, nearly two dozen federal agencies and offices have made systematic and substantive progress to safeguard public health and protect the environment from PFAS in drinking water and beyond. This work is coordinated by the White House Council on Environmental Quality, which leads the Interagency Policy Committee on PFAS. Other new actions the Biden-Harris Administration has advanced to combat PFAS pollution over the past year include:

Protecting Firefighters from PFAS: The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to protecting firefighters from the harmful effects of PFAS contained in fire suppressing agents and firefighter gear. The Department of Defense is offering PFAS blood tests to military firefighters. The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s U.S. Fire Administration is working to reduce PFAS exposure and promoting access to early cancer screenings and participation in the National Firefighter Registry for Cancer led by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health as part of President Biden’s mission to end cancer as we know it.

Reducing PFAS in Fire Suppressants: The Department of Defense (DoD) qualified three fluorine-free foams to replace fluorinated Aqueous Film Forming Foam for shore-based firefighting activities at military installations, which the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has authorized for civilian airports. The FAA is assisting airports to transition to these new foams, and funding foam testing systems for airports that prevent environmental discharge. These changes will reduce the release of PFAS in the environment and protect the health of firefighters and local communities.

Supporting Healthcare Providers: The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently released the PFAS: Information for Clinicians resource guide. This information gives clinicians up-to-date resources and information they need to help patients with questions and concerns about PFAS exposure and health effects.

Phasing Out PFAS in Food Packaging: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the completion of the voluntary market phase-out of PFAS used on paper and paperboard food packaging, eliminating the primary source of dietary exposure to PFAS. FDA can now also test for 30 PFAS in a variety of foods to further protect people from dietary PFAS exposure.

Testing for and Cleaning Up PFAS Pollution: EPA continues to take key actions to address PFAS. For example, EPA is gathering data on 29 PFAS in the nation’s drinking water systems has collaborated with DoD to develop a method to test for 40 PFAS in various media including biosolids, groundwater, and fish tissue. EPA also updated its interim PFAS disposal and destruction guidance and has released a new method to test for 30 volatile fluorine-containing compounds in air including potential products of incomplete combustion of PFAS. DoD recently identified 40 installations where interim cleanup actions to prevent further PFAS migration are underway or will start in FY2024. These actions will address PFAS in groundwater to protect public health and the environment.  

Reducing PFAS in Federal Procurement: EPA and the U.S. General Services Administration announced this week that custodial contracts for federal buildings will now only use cleaning products certified to ecolabels such as EPA’s Safer Choice and certain Green Seal standards, thereby avoiding products that contain intentionally added PFAS. This shift will protect the environment, federal custodial workers, other federal employees, and those visiting government buildings.

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The Cross Hall

Good evening. Welcome to our State Dinner preview.

Tomorrow, we find the common threads of humanity that connect us, that transcend distance or difference, built on shared values as we celebrate the flourishing friendship between the United States and Japan – and those threads that bind us, people to people, heart to heart.

As technology dissolves the distances between us, and we face challenges that cross borders and oceans, our nations are partners in building a world where we choose creation over destruction, peace over bloodshed, and democracy over autocracy.

President Biden and I are honored to welcome Prime Minister and Mrs. Kishida to the United States for an Official Visit with a State Dinner tomorrow night. We look forward to returning the hospitality and friendship we have experienced in our travels to Japan.

For dinner, the State Floor will transform into a vibrant spring garden – a place of joy and renewal, of hope and growth.

As guests sit among a field of flowers, glass and silk butterflies from both our countries will dance over their tables.

Their graceful flight a reminder that as our nations navigate the winds of change, we do so together – as partners in peace and prosperity.

As dinner comes to an end, guests will enter a Cross Hall overflowing with the purples and pinks and blues of hydrangeas – native to both our nations – some as high as six feet tall.

Beneath their feet, a stunning floor covering transforms the hall into a river of spring blossoms. Swimming through the water are koi – symbols of friendship, peace, luck, and perseverance.

Every detail of tomorrow’s State Dinner has been thoughtfully planned by an incredible team of people from across our government – Joe and I are so fortunate to have you.

Thank you to all those who make this house a home and have come together to make tomorrow night incredibly meaningful and memorable. And, I am once again grateful for Bryan Rafanelli’s brilliance and partnership.

Before you leave today, we will share a little taste of the meal our incredible chefs are preparing for the guests.

Now, please welcome, our Social Secretary, Carlos Elizondo.

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Millions of American families count on programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Medicaid, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and child care to support their health, nutrition, and well-being. These programs have a proven record of supporting better life outcomes for parents and children alike. 

Beginning with the President’s Executive Order on Customer Experience, the Biden-Harris Administration has worked to ensure improved access and accurate benefits. Families should be able to:

• Easily find out what they are eligible for;
• Apply for and receive benefits quickly and without excessive red tape;
• Provide critical information to government once, rather than re-submitting the same information multiple times across programs;
• Remain enrolled as long as they are eligible; and
• Have equitable, high quality service experiences.

Today, the Biden-Harris Administration is highlighting policy and implementation actions that the Federal Government has taken to improve benefits access.  These actions include both policy changes, like simplifying applications and eliminating waiting periods, and implementation actions, like helping states reduce application backlogs and enabling data sharing across programs. These actions build on the Office of Management and Budget and the United States Digital Service’s (USDS) Life Experience project to support Americans Facing a Financial Shock. 

The Biden-Harris Administration is also identifying opportunities for States to take additional policy actions to streamline the process of accessing benefits or use existing data sources to verify information rather than requiring it from users. 

Effective federal and state strategies for improving customer service can improve efficiency and achieve three benefits:

• Reducing the burden on residents, so they do not need to produce paperwork to get or keep their benefits and establish facts that the state knows or should know;
• Reducing the burden on state agencies, so they can focus on areas of greatest human need and greatest fraud risk; and
• Reducing risk of error and fraud, as simpler applications generate fewer unintentional mistakes, automatic verifications can be more accurate, and streamlined processes free staff to focus on the riskiest cases and at-scale benefits fraud.

Highlights from the Biden-Harris Administration Record

Policy Changes:

• On March 27, 2024, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a final rule to protect and improve how millions of eligible people apply for, renew, and maintain their Medicaid coverage. The rule reduces red tape and simplifies applications, verifications, enrollment, and renewals for health care coverage through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). It also expands access to coverage for children in CHIP by eliminating waiting periods, coverage lockouts for non-payment of premiums, and annual and lifetime benefit limits.

• HHS finalized a rule strengthening the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) program, which supports over a million children and their families each month with child care assistance. The rule makes it easier for families to access CCDBG subsidies by encouraging states to streamline eligibility and enrollment processes and reduce red tape that can disrupt parent employment, training, and education. The final rule also encourages states to adopt a policy of presumptive eligibility for child care subsidies, considerably lowering the burden for families to receive the subsidy, particularly for families experiencing homelessness.

Implementation Support:

• The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) partnered with USDS to help numerous states make their systems more accurate and efficient – increasing monthly auto-renewal, or ex parte, rates by an average of 21% and decreasing procedural termination rates by an average of 10%. In 2024, these improvements are projected to save over two million hours of state worker time and enable states to renew health coverage with less red tape for over five million eligible individuals.

• USDS and CMS discovered and helped states fix a systems issue that impacted 29 states and was responsible for improper loss of coverage for over 400,000 children and families in Medicaid and CHIP. As a result, improperly disenrolled individuals regained their coverage and retroactively had their coverage reinstated for their period of improper disenrollment.

• In Spring 2024, USDS will launch pilots to improve income verification for federal benefit programs. The pilots will test and measure new approaches to improve incoming reporting, electronic verification for self-employed workers, coordination of federal benefit services, and reducing barriers to federal benefit programs.

• In April 2024, USDA expects to release the Request for Applications for Fiscal Year 2024 Process and Technology Improvement Grants, which will award a total of $5 million in grants to between 5 and 12 awardees to simplify SNAP application and eligibility determination systems.

• In March 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) launched the new Direct File Pilot Program in partnership with USDS to help Americans file their taxes for free. Made possible by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, Direct File provides a free, secure option for an estimated 19 million taxpayers in 12 states to file their taxes directly with the IRS. Initial users have saved hundreds of dollars and reported that the tool is simple and straightforward to use.  

• USDS partnered with the Social Security Administration (SSA) to makes it easier for Americans to use the SSA website to apply for benefits, sign up for Medicare, and apply for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), resulting in a 52.8% increase in customer satisfaction among the 180 million annual visitors to SSA.gov. This work included creating a more user-friendly eligibility process so that more SSA customers start an online application when they discover they may be eligible for benefits.

• In 2022, through a partnership between USDS and the U.S. Postal Service, the Biden-Harris Administration delivered over 800 million COVID-19 test kits for free to households across the U.S. through an easy. website.

• The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) launched a new Health and Benefits mobile app that makes it easier for Veterans to access benefits, including managing disability claims and appeals. The app has more than 2 million downloads, with almost a million monthly active users who send over 300,000 secure messages and refill over a quarter of a million prescriptions each month.

An Agenda for States to Improve Access to Safety Net Programs

While the federal government has a key role to play in improving benefits delivery, states have a number of opportunities to improve benefits delivery as well.

State leaders are encouraged to consider the following options to improve access to nutrition assistance:

• Adopting SNAP options available under current law, such as simplifying reporting requirements and assigning the longest certification periods of 12 months for most households and up to 36 months for some older adults and individuals with disabilities. Reducing verification workloads by applying the standard medical expense amount for elderly or disabled individuals with expenses over $35 without requiring receipts, and opting in to USDA’s national SNAP Earnings Verification Service (EVS) contract through the Work Number, which provides access to two commercial databases as a lower cost way to conduct income verification services in order to verify earned income sources and amounts for SNAP applicants and recipients. 

• Streamlining eligibility verification processes by implementing data sharing agreements with other state agencies to verify eligibility and circumstances. Implementing data sharing agreements necessary to allow state agencies that administer Medicaid, TANF, and SNAP to automatically enroll eligible people in WIC.

• Aligning asset limit for SNAP Households with TANF-funded benefits to reduce the burden of providing numerous verifications for the same data that add time and complexity to the eligibility determination process, and to avoid discouraging households from building savings that support financial security. Thirty-seven states and the District of Columbia have aligned their SNAP asset limits with programs that do not have asset limits for most recipients and four states have aligned their assets limits with programs that have higher asset limits. Other states have also aligned their SNAP gross income limit up to 200 percent of the federal poverty line to remove participation barriers for low-income households with high housing and dependent care expenses, streamline caseload processing, and bring additional federal funding into their communities.

• Implementing new WIC flexibilities that allow for more flexibility in providing services remotely to increase convenience, such as allowing for WIC benefits and nutrition education to be delivered virtually.

State leaders can further improve customers’ experience of benefit programs by taking the following steps to improve access to health programs:

• Use SNAP administrative data to automatically certify Medicaid eligibility.

• Use Social Security data on enrollment in Medicare, Supplemental Security Income, and the Low-Income Subsidy as an application for Medicare Savings Programs (MSP), in compliance with the 2023 final rule to streamline MSP application and enrollment.

Sustained improvement in benefits access and customer experience requires changes across policy, operations, technology, staffing, procurement, and more. Best practices include integrated access through a common application for multiple programs and automating participant renewals using available data to pre-populate renewal forms. They also include implementing organizational and systemic improvements like using behavioral science and human-centered design methods for process streamlining, supporting culture change across staff that centers on high standards for customer experience (CX), and facilitating cross-agency collaboration to coordinate common efforts that improve benefits access.

A description of best practices for benefits access can be found here.

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Union Station
Washington, D.C.

1:01 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, hello, hello.  (Applause.)  As my mother would say, “God love you all.” 

Crystal, thank you for sharing your story.  It’s a — and a simple truth.

Folks, you know, there’s no better place for me to — last year at this day, I declared Caregiver and Caretaker — Caregivers Month.  And — and it’s — and I couldn’t think of no better place to celebrate it today than here at this station.  (Applause.) 

No, no, I’ll tell you why.  For 36 years, I commuted from the state of Delaware to here every single day the Senate was in session.  And over a millio- — a lo- — a lot of times.  The reason I did is — I think I understand a little bit what many of you have gone through and what you’re trying to help with.

You know, when I got elected, I was 26 — 29 years old.  I wasn’t old enough to be sworn in.  While I was down here hiring staff, before I was sworn in, I got a call saying my wife and daughter were dead and my two boys were badly injured.  And so, you know, I — I wasn’t going to come down, but I had a — thank God, I had a family and a lot of friends and older men- — members like me, 45, 50 — (laughter) — who helped me out.

But all — but all kidding aside, I didn’t have them — I was just — I just had started a law practice.  I didn’t have any money.  I mean, I made a living, but I didn’t have any money.  And what I tried to do is figure out how I was going to raise my boys.

AUDIENCE MEMBERS:  Wooo!

THE PRESIDENT:  No, I’m serious.

And I tell you what, I really wondered: Why did I commute every single day?  Over a million miles roundtrip over the time I was in the United States Senate.

And the reason I did: I couldn’t afford a house down here without selling my house at home, and I couldn’t afford caregiving.  It was the God’s truth.  No possibility.  None whatsoever.

But I — lucky I had a family.  My mother, my father, my sister, my brother all moved in, helped me take care of my kids.  But then we ended up with Mom getting sick and Dad getting sick, and they — we took care of them — the so-called sandwich generation.

Look, you care workers represent the best of who we are as Americans.  (Applause.)  No, you really do.  We look out for one another in America.  We leave nobody behind — nobody behind.

And you said — all the heroes in the lives you was — talk about.  Well, you’re our hero.  You’re the heroes to so many individuals.  You really are.  And you represent so many people who do it — and do it out of love and concern, not because of the pay, because they’re not getting the pay they need.  It matters.  (Laughter.)

As your President, I’m here with a simple message.  I give you my word: I have your back.  I have your back.  (Applause.)

I also to thank the family of Ady Barkan, whose widow Rachael and her son here — Carl — are here, just backstage.  I just met with them.  Their family embodies why care matters.  It’s critical to the dignity of care, the dignity of all — all caregivers and workers.

My dad used to say, “A job — Joey” — I give you my word as a (inaudible).  “A job is about a lot more than a paycheck.  It’s about your dignity.  It’s about respect.”  (Applause.)  No, it really is.  “It’s about being able to look your kid in the eye and say, ‘Honey, it’s going to be okay.’”

Care workers and caregivers are critical to our families and to the entire economy.  That’s why as a candidate, as president I was determined to turn things around.  We’ve made progress, but there’s so more that we have to do — so much more.

If we want the best economy in the world, we have to have the best caregiving economy in the world.  (Applause.)  We really do.  They are not inconsistent.  They are consistent.

But the cost of care is too high and pay for care workers is much too low.  (Applause.)

Take childcare.  A typical family spends $11,000 a year on childcare per child — per child.  If you live in a big city, that can be $17,000 for each child — more than their college tuition if, God willing, you’re able to get there.  And a lot of parents do the math and realize they can’t afford to go to work, because childcare can sometimes literally cost more than they earn — more than they earn.

You know, take homecare.  The cost of long-term care for aging loved ones and people with disabilities rose 40 percent in the last decade.

Medicaid offers help, but it can’t meet the demand.  You know, there are 700,000 seniors waiting in line — 700,000 waiting in line, and people with disabilities are stuck on Medicaid homecare waiting lists for as long as 10 years if they survive to be qualifi- — it’s amazing.  Think about it.

Family members like ours and yours often spend their own retirement savings to pay for the care of the loved ones.  Others leave their jobs to care for them.  And millions are part of the so-called sandwich generation, taking care of both your kids and your aging parents at the same time — at least that’s been the experience of the Biden family.  It’s overwhelming.

Take paid leave.  We’re the only ad- — (applause) — we’re — we’re the — we’re the only advanced economy in the world not to guarantee paid leave.  We’re going to change that.  (Applause.)  That means to help a loved one, many folks have to leave work to [or] find out later that they’ve been fired.

In the United States of America, no one — no one should choose between caring for a parent who’s raised them, a child who depends on them, or a paycheck that they need.  (Applause.)  That’s not why it should be — the way it should be. 

No, I’m serious.  You wonder whether I feel strongly about this, I do.

Look, more often than not, from childcare to eldercare to the lack of paid leave, it’s women who bear the brunt — (applause) — women who bear the brunt.

We saw that during the pandemic when 2 million women left their jobs to help take care of their families.  It hurts our whole economy to lose so much talent in the workplace.  And it keeps women from earning the equal pay they deserve because they say, “Well, you haven’t been here.”

Look, a fact: Care workers are predominately women as well — women of color and immigrants who are overworked, overlooked, and underpaid.  (Applause.)  It’s not enough just to praise them for all they’re doing; we have to pay them.  (Applause.)

To invest in our care economy, as soon as I came into office, I signed the American Rescue Plan.  Not a single Republican voted for it, I might add — not one. 

It made our nation’s biggest investment in childcare ever.  (Applause.)  For example, it kept 225,000 childcare workers — cen- — well, childcare working centers open, giving parents an opportunity —

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  (Inaudible.)

THE PRESIDENT:  — to get back to work. 

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  (Inaudible.)

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I tell you what — you want to come make a speech or shush up?  Okay?  (Laughter.)  I’m not messing around with him.  He — he lo- — he looks like he could take me. 

AFSCME!  (Applause.)

Look, it expanded the Childcare Tax Credit, cutting child poverty in America in half.  That’s what it did.  We cut it in half.  (Applause.)

Overall, my administration increased funding for nearly 50 percent for — of — by 50 percent for childcare.  And in the coming weeks, we plan to release new rules to strengthen staffing standards in nursing homes, to get homecare workers a bigger share of Medicaid payments.  (Applause.)

But I want to — but that’s not going to be enough.  I want to do more, and we can do more.

My budget for next year makes key commitments to children, seniors, and people with disabilities, and to caregivers who look after their loved ones.  (Applause.)  

First, for working families with small children, we’re going to guarantee affordable, quality childcare.  (Applause.)  Most families — under our plan, most families will pay less than $10 a day per child, saving millions of folks as much as $7,000 a year.  That’s a lot of breathing room for a — young families who need it badly.  (Applause.)   

We’ll also restore the expanded Childcare Tax Credit — (applause) — lifting millions of children out of poverty.  And, by the way, this helps the economy.  It doesn’t hurt the — it helps the economy.  (Applause.)

You know, our Republican friends let that expire.  Well, we got to expire a couple of them, politically — (laughter and applause) — in order to get this passed.

Together, we’re going to bring it back.  (Applause.)

Second, seniors and people with disabilities, we’re going to expand Medicaid homecare services and reduce that 700,000-person backlog.  (Applause.)  That’ll mean more folks can live and work in their own communities with dignity and independence.  More homecare workers will start getting a better pay and benefits and dignity they deserve.  (Applause.)

By the way, if anybody is listening besides all of us, we agree on this: This is really — I’m — we’re deadly earnest.  This is not — it’s not a joke.  This matters.  (Applause.)

Third, for everyone caring for a loved one, my budget would finally, finally create a national paid family and medical leave program — finally — (applause) — up to 12 weeks to care for a newborn, a sick on- — a sick loved one, or yourself without losing your income.  (Applause.)

Look, it’s past time America caught up with the rest of the world on paid leave.  (Applause.) 

And, folks, all this helps families, and it grows the economy.  It grows the economy.  And we can afford to do it.  To put another way, we can’t afford not to do it. 

Look, I’m a capitalist.  But I want to make sure that — you know, if you make a million bucks, great.  Just start paying your fair share in taxes.  (Applause.) 

But let me ask you: Does anyone here think the tax code is fair?  Raise your hand.

AUDIENCE:  No!

THE PRESIDENT:  I don’t either.  (Laughter.)

The last administration enacted a $2 trillion tax cut —

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE PRESIDENT:  — overwhelmingly benefiting the very wealthy and the biggest corporations and exploded the federal deficit more than any other president has.  We’ve cut the deficit, by the way.  (Applause.)

It added more to the national debt than any presidential term in history.  And it’s due to expire next year.  And guess what?  I hope to be president because it expires, it’s going to stay expired — (applause) — stay expired. 

Our administration — our administration has already cut the deficit by $1 trillion.  And I’m going to cut it even more this decade by making big corporations and the very wealthy begin to pay their fair share.  (Applause.)

Under my plan, nobody earning less than $400,000 a year will pay an extra penny in taxes.  I don’t — I hope that (inaudible).  (Applause.)

As I’ve made it clear: We’re not trying to beat people — there a- — but there are a thousand billionaires in America — from 750 to 1,000 since the pandemic.  You know what the average tax rate those billionaires pay?  8.2 percent. 

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE PRESIDENT:  No, I’m serious.  Anybody want to trade that tax rate? 

AUDIENCE:  Yes!

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, look, that’s far less than the vast majority of Americans pay.  No billionaire should pay a lower tax rate than a teacher, a firefighter, or a care worker.  (Applause.)

And that’s why I proposed a minimum tax for billionaires of 25 percent.  It’s not even the highest rate — just 25 percent.  And guess what?  It’s more fair.  But it also — guess what it would do over 10 years?  It would raise $500 billion — (applause) — $500 billion.  And it wouldn’t hurt anybody.

I’m a capitalist.  If you make a billion bucks, wonderful.  Pay your fair share.  (Applause.)

Imagine what we can do — imagine what we can do for America.  Look, folks, imagine a future with affordable childcare, homecare, eldercare, paid leave.  

But, folks, our Republican friends have a different vision.  Republicans in the House of Representatives — and, by the way, Rosa DeLauro — she was here, I was told — she’s a hell of a champion for all this.  (Applause.) 

They just released their budget — the Republicans — that cuts caregiving programs by a third — the ones that exist, cuts them by a third.  For example, it would mean 260,000 fewer kids in childcare.  

My predecessor and his MAGA friends want to — I love the phrase — the — the language they use — they want to “terminate” the Affordable Care Act.

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE PRESIDENT:  “Terminate.”  Well, guess what?  Killing millions of Americans — taking them off of healthcare insurance and stripping others of services like homecare.

Folks — and, by the way, you know how many times they’ve tried to take out Obamacare and the Affordable Healthcare Act?  Forty-nine times they’ve tried.  They can keep trying, but they’re not going to get it done.  (Applause.)

And, look, when it comes to Social Security and Medicare, my predecessor recently said, quote, “There’s a lot you can do in terms of cutting.”  God love him. 

Right on cue, House Republicans released their budget that would raise the retirement age in Social Security — the budget they submitted for next year — and slash Medicare, while they cut taxes for the very wealthy again.

I got a better idea.  I’ll protect Social Security and Medicare and make the very wealthy pay their fair share to make it work.  (Applause.) 

Look, let me conclude where I started, by thanking all of you.  As Crystal said, you’re all — and I mean this sincerely — you’re all somebody’s hero. 

That’s what I see in our nation’s caregivers: heroes.  We need you.  Not a joke.  We need you.  (Applause.) 

And together, I know we can do this.  I’ve never been more optimistic about our future.  We just have to remember who we are.  We’re the United States of America.  There’s nothing beyond our capacity — nothing — (applause) — if we do it together.

So, let’s stay work- — get to work, keep working.  And God bless you all.  And may God bless our troops. 

Thank you.  (Applause.) 

1:16 P.M. EDT

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The Trump tax cuts’ giveaways to large corporations led to record high stock buybacks. President Biden’s stock buyback tax will encourage companies to invest in workers and the U.S. economy, rather than paying out stock buybacks to wealthy investors, and make corporations pay more of their fair share. The Treasury Department’s proposed regulations are a key step toward implementing President Biden’s tax fairness agenda.

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Vice President Kamala Harris met today with families of Americans taken hostage by Hamas on October 7. The Vice President underscored that President Biden and she have no higher priority than reuniting the hostages with their loved ones. She also reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to bring home the remains of those who have been tragically confirmed to be deceased. The Vice President again condemned Hamas as a brutal terrorist organization and its horrific use of sexual violence, reaffirmed that the threat Hamas poses to Israel must be eliminated, and denounced the rise of antisemitism worldwide. The Vice President expressed her continued support for these families and they discussed the agony and pain felt over the past 6 months. The Vice President told them that they and their loved ones remain at the forefront of her mind and in her prayers as the Biden-Harris Administration works to secure the release of all the hostages. The Vice President provided an update on U.S. efforts to secure the release of all hostages and an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

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     On April 12, 2010, by Executive Order 13536, the President declared a national emergency pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701-1706) to deal with the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States constituted by the deterioration of the security situation and the persistence of violence in Somalia; acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia, which have been the subject of United Nations Security Council resolutions; and violations of the arms embargo imposed by the United Nations Security Council.

     On July 20, 2012, the President issued Executive Order 13620 to take additional steps to deal with the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13536 in view of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2036 of February 22, 2012, and Resolution 2002 of July 29, 2011, and to address:  exports of charcoal from Somalia, which generate significant revenue for al-Shabaab; the misappropriation of Somali public assets; and certain acts of violence committed against civilians in Somalia, all of which contribute to the deterioration of the security situation and the persistence of violence in Somalia.

     The situation with respect to Somalia continues to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.  For this reason, the national emergency declared on April 12, 2010, and the measures adopted on that date and on July 20, 2012, to deal with that threat, must continue in effect beyond April 12, 2024.  Therefore, in accordance with section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)), I am continuing for 1 year the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13536. 

     This notice shall be published in the Federal Register and transmitted to the Congress.


                                                                         JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.



THE WHITE HOUSE,
    April 9, 2024.

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TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES:


     Section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)) provides for the automatic termination of a national emergency unless, within 90 days prior to the anniversary date of its declaration, the President publishes in the Federal Register and transmits to the Congress a notice stating that the emergency is to continue in effect beyond the anniversary date.  In accordance with this provision, I have sent to the Federal Register for publication the enclosed notice stating that the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13536 of April 12, 2010, with respect to Somalia is to continue in effect beyond April 12, 2024.

     The situation with respect to Somalia continues to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.  Therefore, I have determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13536 with respect to Somalia.


                              JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.



THE WHITE HOUSE,
    April 9, 2024.

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Millions of Arizonans will soon live under an even more extreme and dangerous abortion ban, which fails to protect women even when their health is at risk or in tragic cases of rape or incest. This cruel ban was first enacted in 1864—more than 150 years ago, before Arizona was even a state and well before women had secured the right to vote. This ruling is a result of the extreme agenda of Republican elected officials who are committed to ripping away women’s freedom.
 
Vice President Harris and I stand with the vast majority of Americans who support a woman’s right to choose. We will continue to fight to protect reproductive rights and call on Congress to pass a law restoring the protections of Roe v. Wade for women in every state.

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