Biden and Kishida pledge to strengthen US-Japan ties as a counter to China

US President Joe Biden met Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the White House on January 13, 2023, where they pledged to strengthen their nations’ ties, coordinate their global leadership agendas and bolster alliances in the Indo-Pacific region to counter an increasingly powerful China. That followed deals to expand cooperation in outer space, amid a Pentagon report that Beijing was speeding up development of laser-based weapons.