Key Points
President Joe Biden on Wednesday called close US ally Japan xenophobic at a Washington, D.C., fundraiser, just weeks after lauding the US-Japan alliance at a state dinner...
The president made the remark at the off-camera event while arguing that Japan, along with India, Russia and China, would perform better economically if the countries embraced immigration more.. ..
He was saying that when it comes to who we are as a nation, we are a nation of immigrants, that is in our DNA, she told reporters aboard Air Force One, adding later Biden was making a broad comment in his comments about Japan and India.. ..
President Biden values the capabilities that they bring across the spectrum on a range of issues, not just security related, Kirby said.. . Biden had similarly cast Japan, Russia and China as xenophobic during an interview with a Spanish language radio station in March.. ..
The latest critique of Japan comes less than a month after he hosted Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for a state visit and nearly a year after the president hosted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his own state visit..