TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s outgoing Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will visit Washington later this month for a four-way meeting of leaders from the United States, Japan, Australia and India, Kyodo News reported on Wednesday.
On the sidelines of the proposed “quad” meeting, Suga will also likely meet bilaterally with President Joe Biden, Kyodo said, citing “several” unnamed Japanese government sources.
Suga became the first leader to hold a face-to-face White House summit with Biden in April, underscoring Japan’s central role in U.S. efforts to face down an increasingly assertive China.
Suga’s term as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) – and by default Japan’s prime minister – ends on Sept. 30. He has said he would not run in the next election for party leader, on Sept. 29.
(This story corrects to remove extraneous word “to” in first paragraph)
(Reporting by Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Alex Richardson)
