A bipartisan group of U.S. senators on Tuesday submitted a resolution underscoring the significance of the robust alliance between Washington and Tokyo, a day ahead of official talks between President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
The nine-page resolution, introduced by six senators, recognized the importance of the decades-old alliance that serves as the cornerstone of peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region and welcomed Kishida's official visit to Washington.
It said the Senate "stands ready to support efforts to build a more capable and modernized alliance to address regional and global security challenges."
The six senators included Ben Cardin, a Democrat who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Jim Risch, a Republican and ranking member of the panel, and William Hagerty, who was U.S. ambassador to Japan under Biden's predecessor Donald Trump.
Among many other points, the resolution said the Senate applauds Japan's commitment to increase defense spending to 2 percent of gross domestic product by 2027 and its strong and continued support for Ukraine since Russia's invasion of the country in February 2022.
"Our alliance with Japan is ironclad, and we have never been more strategically aligned with our friends in Tokyo than we are today," Cardin said in a statement. "Japan is a key partner in addressing the most pressing issues across the globe and even in outer space."
"I am proud to have colleagues on both sides of the aisle join me in introducing this resolution," he said.
Kishida arrived in Washington on Monday evening, marking the first visit to the United States by a Japanese prime minister as a state guest since 2015. He will hold formal talks with Biden and attend a state dinner on Wednesday.
On Thursday, the Japanese leader is slated to address a joint session of Congress and participate in an unprecedented trilateral summit also involving Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
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