In Japan, outgoing Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is finalising plans to visit the United States in late September for the U.N. General Assembly and a possible meeting with President Joe Biden, the Yomiuri newspaper reported on Saturday.
The visit may take place for several days starting on Sept. 22, the report said, citing multiple government sources it did not identify.
Kishida on Wednesday dropped out of the leadership race for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, meaning he will step down as prime minister of Japan when his term as party leader ends in late September.
The date of the LDP election is not yet set. It could be as early as Sept. 20, in which case Kishida would likely address the General Assembly after Japan’s parliament, where the LDP has a majority, has chosen his replacement as prime minister, according to the Yomiuri.
Some in the Japanese government think Kishida’s successor as prime minister of Japan should not develop close ties with Biden, the newspaper said.
Kishida’s decision to step down reflected growing public dissatisfaction with the scandals plaguing his government. This included revelations three years ago about the ruling LDP’s ties to the Unification Church.
His popularity took another hit when a slush fund of recorded political donations made at LDP fund raising events, came to light. There was also public disquiet as wages failed to keep pace with rising living costs as Japan finally shook off years of deflationary pressures.
That apart, if Kishida stood for re-election as head of the LDP, he needed to win “with grace”, as the Japanese delicately put it. This was not assured.
As for President Joe Biden, who dropped out of November’s U.S. presidential election, he was replaced as the Democratic Party nominee last month by Vice President Kamala Harris. She faces the Republican candidate, former President Donald Trump.
With Reuters inputs
