Japanese Prime Minister Kishida visits Europe and US Selenskyj’s office warns of false reports of corpses

The visit to France, Italy, Great Britain, Canada and the US is in preparation for the G7 summit from 19 to 21 May in Hiroshima, Kishida’s hometown. The countries on the route are among those with which Japan has intensified its security cooperation given China’s growing hunger for power and the threat posed by North Korea’s missile and nuclear programs.

Kishida’s meeting with US President Joe Biden on Friday to conclude his trip will be his first visit to the US capital since taking office in October 2021.

Under Kishida, Japan is making a historic change in its security policy and plans to massively increase its defense spending. The defense budget should amount to two percent of the country’s economic output instead of the previous one percent.

The change of course comes amid what the Tokyo government describes as the “severe and most complicated” security environment since World War II. China’s military presence in the region represents “the greatest strategic challenge” of all time, according to a recently approved new security document. The protective power of Japan, the US, puts it in a similar way. (sda/dpa)