Japan and the US are working on arranging a summit between Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and President Joe Biden in New York around Sept. 20 to discuss security issues in East Asia, Kyodo news reported on Saturday.
China's rising pressure on Taiwan, North Korea's nuclear test threats and Russia's invasion of Ukraine are among issues to be discussed, with the summit likely to be held on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meeting, Kyodo said, citing sources in both governments.
Kishida is also likely to attend the funeral of Queen Elizabeth in Britain together with Japan's Emperor Naruhito before visiting the United States, TV Asahi reported earlier on Saturday. Biden has said he will attend the queen's funeral.
It would be Naruhito's first overseas trip since acceding to the throne in May 2019.
According to Reuters, it is rare for a Japanese emperor to attend a royal funeral overseas. In 1993, then-Emperor Akihito, now emperor emeritus, attended the state funeral of King Baudouin of Belgium with then-Empress Michiko.
