WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden on Monday unveiled a plan to visit Japan in May to attend a summit meeting of the Quad countries, also including Australia and India.

In his opening remarks at a virtual meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Biden said that he was looking forward to seeing him in Japan on May 24 during the meeting of Quad leaders.

It will be Biden’s first visit to Asia, including Japan, since he took office in January last year.

Through the visit, the president apparently aims to assert the United States’ presence in the Asia-Pacific region, where China continues to make hegemonic moves, at a time when the international order is being shaken by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The trip is believed to be intended to further strengthen the Japan-U.S. alliance and the ties among the Quad nations.

In Japan, Biden plans to hold talks with Japanese Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio, separately from the Quad summit. 

Biden is also considering visiting South Korea to hold his first talks with Yoon Suk-yeol, who is set to assume the country’s presidency on May 10.

It will be the first face-to-face Quad summit since the leaders of the four countries met in Washington in September last year.

In a press conference on Monday, US White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that Biden is looking forward to visiting Asia but that details of the trip have not been decided.

JIJI Press