[Title] Joint Press Conference by the Leaders of Japan and the United States

[Opening Statement by Prime Minister Kishida]

I wish to thank Joe and his wife Jill once again for kindly inviting me here. Thank you, Joe.

President Biden and I have met countless times until now, confirming just how critical are the crossroads where we now stand as well as the importance of Japan-U.S. cooperation.

The international community is now at a historic turning point.　 In order for Japan and the United States, the Indo-Pacific region, and indeed, the entire world to enjoy peace and stability as well as prosperity into the future, we must resolutely defend the free and open international order based on the rule of law and make it even more rock-solid.

Today I again conveyed to President Biden that now is the time for Japan and the United States to demonstrate their true value as global partners, that we should together fulfill our responsibility for creating a world where human dignity is safeguarded, and that Japan will always stand alongside the United States.

In addition, I told President Biden that I have been working with strong determination to reinforce Japan's defense capabilities in accordance with our National Security Strategy, including through the future possession of counter-strike capabilities and by increasing the budget for defense capabilities and related initiatives. President Biden responded by reiterating his strong support for this.

Beyond that, we reconfirmed that the further reinforcement of the deterrence and the response capabilities of the Japan-U.S. Alliance is a matter of great urgency and to reinforce our security and defense cooperation, including by upgrading our respective command and control frameworks in order to enhance interoperability between U.S. forces and the Japan Self-Defense Forces. We will advance our discussions in concrete terms as we work towards the next Japan-U.S. Security Consultative Committee (2+2 Meeting).

We next exchanged views on various issues facing the international community.

First of all, we reaffirmed that unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion are totally unacceptable anywhere in the world and that we will continue to respond to them resolutely, in coordination with our allies and like-minded countries.

From that perspective, we shared the view to continue to act in close cooperation in responding to issues related to China. We also confirmed that at the same time it is important to continue dialogues with China and cooperate with China on shared challenges.

We also emphasized the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and reconfirmed our shared approach of encouraging the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues.

Moreover, we discussed the situation relating to North Korea, including its nuclear and missile development. We welcomed the progress of cooperation among Japan, the U.S., and the Republic of Korea (ROK) across many fields following the outcomes of the Japan-U.S.-ROK Summit held last August. We also shared the view to cooperate even more closely in light of the current situation, which is of serious concern. President Biden also expressed once again his vigorous support for the immediate resolution of the abductions issue.

We reconfirmed we will work to realize a free and open Indo-Pacific based on the rule of law and we shared the view to continue to work in close cooperation, including on the occasion of the Japan-U.S.-Philippines summit meeting scheduled for tomorrow.

On the matter of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, with the recognition that "Ukraine today may be East Asia tomorrow," I declared that Japan, regarding this issue as our own, is determined to continue stringent sanctions against Russia alongside robust support for Ukraine, and President Biden and I were of the same mind with regard to engaging in close cooperation with like-minded countries.

As for the situation in the Middle East, I expressed to President Biden my respect for his efforts towards the release of the hostages, the improvement of the humanitarian situation, and calming the situation down. I then explained that Japan has been engaging in repeated diplomatic efforts towards improving the humanitarian situation and realizing a sustainable ceasefire. We shared the view to cooperate closely to improve the situation, realize a two-state solution, and stabilize the region.

Regarding the economy, we were united in our understanding that for Japan and the U.S. to together lead global economic growth, promoting investment flowing in both directions will be critical. In our discussion I pointed out that Japanese companies are making tremendous contributions to the U.S. economy through investment and through job creation, which President Biden acknowledged approvingly.

We also confirmed that Japan-U.S. cooperation will be indispensable in order for us to drive sustainable and inclusive economic growth if we are to maintain and reinforce our competitiveness in advanced technological fields and overcome supply chain vulnerabilities while responding appropriately to the issues of economic coercion, non-market policies and practices, and overproduction. In addition to this, we saw fully eye to eye on advancing our cooperation in decarbonization, artificial intelligence (AI), startups, and other areas.

We also achieved a significant development in the field of space. The first half of the 1960s, when I lived in the United States, was the dawn of U.S. space exploration. I myself was one of the people in the U.S. enthralled by this stupendous challenge.

The relevant Implementing Arrangement has now been signed, and President Biden and I confirmed that Japan will provide a pressurized lunar rover and that the United States will allocate two flight opportunities to the lunar surface to Japanese astronauts. I also welcome the fact that through the Artemis program, a Japanese astronaut can be the first non-American to land on the Moon.

We also took up the topic of efforts to realize a world without nuclear weapons. We confirmed the progress of realistic and practical measures related to nuclear disarmament, including the issuance of the "G7 Leaders' Hiroshima Vision on Nuclear Disarmament" last year, and I welcomed the participation of the United States in the "FMCT (Fissile Material Cut Off Treaty) Friends", which was launched at my initiative.

Finally, we confirmed that we will promote people-to-people exchanges to a greater extent in order to further strengthen the bonds of friendship between people, which serve as the foundation of these unwavering Japan-U.S. bilateral relations.

Today, as the outcome of our meeting, we will issue a Joint Leaders' Statement titled "Global Partners for the Future."

This Statement will declare the determination of both Japan and the United States to maintain and strengthen the free and open international order based on the rule of law, which bolsters the peace, security, and prosperity of the international community, and it will set out principles guiding that determination.

Through our partnership, we will defend the future of Japan and the U.S., the Indo-Pacific, and the world and make it a future of even greater prosperity. Thank you, Joe.