TOKYO: Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is considering visiting the United States as early as this month to hold talks with US President Joe Biden, Japanese government sources said Thursday.

Kishida thinks it is better to visit the United States before an extraordinary session of the Diet, Japan’s parliament, that is likely to be convened in late November to hear his policy speech and handle a supplementary budget, government sources said.

During his visit to Scotland on Tuesday to attend a U.N. climate summit, Kishida had a short conversation with Biden and agreed to visit the United States within this year for a formal meeting.

In their conversation, the two leaders also agreed to keep working closely to realize a free and open Indo-Pacific region, given China’s increasing assertiveness.

Kishida aims to reaffirm the importance of deepening the Japan-U.S. alliance during his envisaged visit to the United States, the sources said.

JIJI Press