US President Arrives in Japan for Quad Summit

Tokyo skyline. File photoTOKYO, May 22. U.S. President Joe Biden arrived in Tokyo on Sunday, where he will attend a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and a meeting of Quad leaders.According to NHK, the government aircraft with the head of the United States, who was previously on a visit to South Korea, landed at the Yokosuka Naval Base near Tokyo.The Foreign Ministry appreciated plans to turn the Quad format into a prototype of the Asian NATOThe meeting of the heads of Japan and the United States is scheduled for Monday, May 23. The main topic of the talks will be the strengthening of US-Japanese allied relations, taking into account the situation around Ukraine and the strengthening of China's presence in the region. The invariability of the US position regarding the defense of Japan, including using the «nuclear umbrella», will be confirmed. In addition, the parties will note a common approach to security issues in Europe and the Indo-Pacific region, emphasize the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and they will call on China for greater nuclear transparency and joining the reduction of nuclear weapons. As Japanese media reported earlier, against this background, Japan, as its share of responsibility for stability in the region, will announce an increase in defense spending at the level of NATO countries — 2% of GDP. At the moment, Japan's defense spending is about 1.24% of GDP. On Tuesday, May 24, the quadripartite security dialogue (Qaud) summit between Japan, the United States, India and Australia will be held. In preparation for the visit of leaders of other states to Tokyo, 18,000 police officers who will provide security for the leaders of the United States, India and Australia during their visit to Japan. Particular attention will be paid to major stations, airports, the US Embassy in Tokyo.