Ambassador Lays Out Japan's Summit Priorities

The following is the full text of an interview with Koji Tomita, the Japanese ambassador in Washington, conducted this week in advance of a visit to the White House by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. An article based on the interview is also being published. 

VOA: What is the significance to Japan of the upcoming summit between President (Joe) Biden and Prime Minister (Yoshihide) Suga? What would Japan like to see happen at the summit? Will we see new evidence of closer cooperation between Tokyo and Washington in regional and global affairs?  AMBASSADOR KOJI TOMITA: This is the first in-person Japan-U.S. summit for both leaders, an event that has always been important in setting a positive tone for our overall diplomatic relationship. We are also honored that Prime Minister Suga will be the first leader of a foreign nation to hold a face-to-face meeting with President Biden since he took office in January. Considering the circumstances with the COVID-19 pandemic and regional affairs, this meeting has an even higher profile than usual. I'm confident that both Prime Minister Suga and President Biden are going to rise to that challenge and build on the foundations of our strong relationship on a number of key points.   First, the leaders will coordinate the strategy needed to further strengthen our alliance, and to realize a "Free and Open Indo-Pacific." This is particularly important as the security environment in the region has become increasingly severe. President Biden and Prime Minister Suga will be building on the strong joint statement released following the recent "2 + 2" meetings in Tokyo, which endorsed the enhancement of the deterrence and response capabilities of the Japan-U.S. Alliance.