Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and US President Joe Biden. (Photo: AFP/VNA)

It is Biden’s first in-person meeting with a foreign leader since he became president in January. At a press conference after the meeting, Biden said the US and Japan will invest together in areas such as 5G, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, genomics and semiconductor supply chains.

The two leaders also discussed regional security issues such as the East China Sea, the South China Sea (known as the East Sea in Vietnam), and the situation in North Korea.

Biden reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to defend Japan’s Senkaku island in the East China Sea, which was claimed by Beijing as Chinese territory. Suga said Japan and the US agree to oppose any attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion in the East and South China seas.