Background
On 10 April 2024, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House, marking the first state visit by a Japanese Prime Minister since 2015.[1] The joint statement issued following their summit meeting highlighted the dawn of a “new era of strategic cooperation” between the U.S. and Japan.[2] The statement heralded the elevation of the U.S.-Japan alliance to unprecedented levels, with both countries aspiring to broaden their partnership on a global scale. Following the meeting, the two countries announced a series of strategic initiatives aimed at enhancing defence and security collaboration, exploring new horizons in space, fostering technological innovation, fortifying economic resilience, expediting climate mitigation efforts, engaging in joint global diplomacy and development endeavours, and strengthening people-to-people contacts.[3] The joint statement also affirmed that the U.S.-Japan mutual security treaty applies to the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea.[4]
