WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will make new agreements with U.S. President Joe Biden when he visits the White House this week, while U.S. and Japanese businesses sign investment deals and cement other ties.
Here are some of the most notable:
MILITARY UPGRADE
Japan and the U.S. are expected to announce plans to upgrade their military alliance, including changes in U.S. military command in Japan and more joint development of defense equipment.
AUKUS, SOUTH CHINA SEA
Biden’s meeting with Kishida is expected to address Japan’s possible involvement in advanced capabilities projects of the AUKUS security pact. The U.S., Britain and Australia formed AUKUS in 2021 to push back against China’s growing influence.
Meanwhile, more joint patrols can be expected in the South China Sea after drills by the United States, Australia, the Philippines and Japan last weekend, U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday.
MICROSOFT, AI
Microsoft said on Tuesday it would invest $2.9 billion over two years to expand its cloud and AI infrastructure in Japan.
Also on Tuesday, the countries announced four universities would partner on artificial intelligence research, funded by $110 million in private sector investment by NVIDIA Amazon, Softbank Microsoft and other companies.
SPACE
Japan is hoping to land its first astronaut on the moon with the U.S. Artemis project that envisages returning humans there by 2026, as competition with Russia and China intensifies.
BULLET TRAINS
The two leaders are also expected to discuss a bullet train project in Texas that would use Japanese technology and investment.
(Reporting by Steve Holland, Jeff Mason, Trevor Hunnicutt, David Brunnstrom, Tim Kelly; Editing by Heather Timmons and Cynthia Osterman)
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