Biden meets Japan’s Emperor Naruhito during Tokyo visit

Tokyo, May 23 (EFE).- American President Joe Biden was received Monday by Emperor Naruhito of Japan at the Tokyo Imperial Palace, as part of the three-day visit the United States leader is making to the country to strengthen alliances in Asia.

Biden arrived at the facilities of the residence of the emperors Naruhito and Masako in the central Tokyo neighborhood of Chiyoda shortly before 10:00 (01:00 GMT) escorted by about 20 vehicles.

Naruhito went to greet Biden upon his arrival and after exchanging a few words, they posed for cameras before going inside to begin the private audience.

It is the first time Emperor Naruhito has met with a president of the United States since he received President Donald Trump, in May 2019, after his accession to the throne.

The area was filled with police vans from the first hour in the framework of the strong police device deployed by the metropolitan authorities on the occasion of the visit.

Some 18,000 agents have been deployed in the capital to ensure security in the face of the Tuesday celebration of a summit of the Quad alliance, made up of the US, Japan, India and Australia.

In the next few hours, Biden will meet Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida, after which they will offer a joint press conference to show unity in the face of the increase in China’s military activities in the region and in response against the war initiated by Russia in Ukraine.

It is expected that among issues they will address is the development of North Korea’s weapons, which since the beginning of the year has carried out a record number of 16 missile tests and there is speculation about the possibility of an upcoming nuclear test.

After the summit, Biden is expected to announce the launch of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework and its members, including Japan, a new initiative whose objective is to strengthen commercial ties between Washington and its main partners in Asia. EFE

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