Japan's Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and US President Joe Biden have agreed at their talks to work closely together in responding to China and other global issues.
The two leaders held a summit for about 15 minutes on Thursday during Kishida's visit to San Francisco for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
At the start of the meeting, Kishida said coordination between Japan and the US is becoming more important than ever amid the Middle East situation, the war in Ukraine and the challenges of the Indo-Pacific region including China and North Korea.
Biden responded that the importance of the Japan-US alliance is higher than ever, and that he would like to further strengthen the coordination between the two countries.
On the conflict between Israel and Hamas, the two leaders condemned terror attacks by the group and others. They confirmed they will cooperate to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza and toward realizing a two-state solution.
Kishida and Biden affirmed the importance of bilateral cooperation in addressing issues of common concern related to China. They agreed to continue to work closely together based on the results of the US-China summit on Wednesday.
Regarding Russia's aggression against Ukraine, the two leaders concurred on continuing severe sanctions against Russia and support for Ukraine.
During the talks, Biden invited Kishida to make an official visit as a state guest to the United States early next year.