Biden Praises Kishida For Transforming Japan's Global Role

TOKYO, Aug 15 (Bernama-Kyodo) -- United States (US) President Joe Biden on Wednesday praised outgoing Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for enhancing Japan's role in global security and fostering closer trilateral relations with South Korea.

"Guided by unflinching courage and moral clarity, Prime Minister Kishida has transformed Japan's role in the world," Kyodo news agency quoted Biden as saying in a statement.

Since taking office in October 2021, Kishida has significantly increased annual defence spending and advanced policy revisions to expand the Japanese Self-Defence Forces' (SDF) options during a contingency, even under the war-renouncing Constitution.

"He unveiled a momentous new national security strategy," Biden added.

Biden also acknowledged that Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol have made "historic steps" toward a new era of trilateral cooperation between Washington, Tokyo, and Seoul.

Kishida attended a trilateral summit with Biden and Yoon at Camp David near Washington DC last year, underscoring the close three-way partnership and improved Tokyo-Seoul ties, which had been strained for years over historical disputes.

In April this year, Kishida addressed Congress, becoming the first Japanese leader to do so in nine years. He reiterated the importance of the alliance with the US in the face of challenges such as China's growing assertiveness and Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Kishida announced on Wednesday that he will not seek re-election as president of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), meaning he will not continue as prime minister beyond next month's leadership vote.

-- BERNAMA-KYODO