Japan PM to seek maiden U.S. visit as early as Jan. 2022 -sources (updated)
17/12/2021 02:44
(Adds source-based confirmation)
Dec 17 (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has
given up his initial plan to visit U.S. President Joe Biden this
year due to tight schedules on the U.S. side and aims to take
the trip early next year, three sources closed to the matter
said.
Since taking office in October, Kishida has made it clear he
seeks to hold a summit meeting with Biden as early as possible
to strengthen ties, but the U.S administration's focus on the
passage of a large-scale social bill made it difficult.
Kishida now aims to visit the United States sometime between
the new year and Jan. 17, when the regular session of parliament
will likely convene, but it could be delayed to February or even
later, the government and ruling party sources said this week.
One of the sources said the delay in Kishida's U.S. visit
will likely have little impact on bilateral relations as the
premier already met with Biden briefly on the sidelines of the
COP26 United Nations climate conference in Glasgow last month.
(Reporting by Yoshifumi Takemoto, Shashwat Awasthi; Writing by
Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Diane Craft and Lincoln Feast.)
((Shashwat.Awasthi@tr.com;))