U.S. President Joe Biden said Tuesday his plan to visit Japan next week to attend this year's summit of the Group of Seven countries remains unchanged, but he suggested the trip could be canceled if he does not make progress in talks with Congress to prevent the first-ever default by the federal government.
"I'm still committed, but obviously this is the single most important thing on the agenda," Biden told reporters after meeting with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other congressional leaders at the White House.
While highlighting the seriousness of the ongoing negotiations on the debt ceiling, Biden added that canceling the trip to attend the three-day G-7 summit of major industrial nations in Hiroshima from May 19 is "possible but not likely."
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Japan's top government spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, said Wednesday that Tokyo had "not received any notice from the U.S. government" regarding Biden's possible absence from the gathering.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned last week that the government could run out of money as early as June 1 if Congress does not act "as soon as possible" to raise or suspend the $31.4 trillion limit.
Biden could not break the impasse in the talks on Wednesday but said he is certain a default will be avoided. The president will hold another round of talks with the congressional leaders on Friday.
