US President Joe Biden has left for Hiroshima to join his counterparts at the Group of Seven summit. He is making the trip amid negotiations in Washington to raise the US borrowing limit, known as the debt ceiling.
Biden said before leaving for Japan on Wednesday that it would be "catastrophic" for the US to run out of money to pay its bills, which could happen as early as June 1. He has asked two officials in his administration to press ahead in negotiations with Republicans while he is gone.
Biden said, "We're going to come together because there's no alternative way to do the right thing for the country. We have to move on."
Biden will meet on Thursday with Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio before the summit. They are set to discuss shared security challenges, including threats from North Korea and China.
They and their G7 colleagues will then come together to revisit their support for Ukraine, among other issues. They want to demonstrate they are united in sanctions on Russia.
Biden had been scheduled to travel to Sydney next week for a meeting of the security framework known as the Quad. Instead, the Australian and Indian leaders are planning to join him and Kishida on Sunday in Hiroshima.
Biden will then rush home for what he has called "final negotiations" to avert an economic crisis.