Japan PM to seek maiden US visit as early as January 2022: sources

[TOKYO] Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has given up his initial plan to visit US President Joe Biden this year due to tight schedules on the US side and aims to take the trip early next year, 3 sources closed to the matter said.

Since taking office in October, Kishida has made it clear he seeks to hold a summit meeting with Biden as early as possible to strengthen ties, but the US administration's focus on the passage of a large-scale social bill made it difficult.

Kishida now aims to visit the United States sometime between the new year and Jan 17, when the regular session of Parliament will likely convene, but it could be delayed to February or even later, the government and ruling party sources said this week.

One of the sources said the delay in Kishida's US visit will likely have little impact on bilateral relations as the premier already met with Biden briefly on the sidelines of the COP26 United Nations climate conference in Glasgow last month.

REUTERS