Press Conference by the Prime Minister on His State of Mind the Day after the Inauguration of His Cabinet and Other Matters

 
 
(On the state of mind the day after the inauguration of the Cabinet and other matters)
 
Today, a day after the inauguration of the Cabinet, I feel a sense of tension similar to the one after “play ball” was announced in a baseball game. With this sense of tension, we would like to steadily make efforts by all means. State Ministers and Parliamentary Vice-Ministers will be named tomorrow and the lineup of the Kishida Cabinet will be fixed. We intend to respond to various challenges with a sense of speed.
 
 (On the Japan-U.S. summit telephone talk with U.S. President Biden)
 
I have just held the Japan-U.S. summit telephone talk with the U.S. President Biden, starting at 8:15 AM for approximately 20 minutes. The talk started with President Biden offering me his congratulations on my assumption of office, and on my part, having already received a message of congratulations from the President, I expressed my appreciation to him. Then President Biden and I confirmed that we will work closely together in strengthening the Japan-U.S. Alliance and realizing a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific.” In particular, the President reaffirmed the U.S.’s unwavering commitment to the defense of Japan including the application of Article V of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty to the Senkaku Islands. Moreover, we shared the view to coordinate closely regarding regional issues such as China and North Korea as well as other major issues. We also confirmed the coordination toward the resolution of the abductions issue. Furthermore, we shared the view that we will coordinate closely in responses to global issues, such as the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and climate change, and in efforts toward “a world free of nuclear weapons.” The President and I agreed to call each other Joe and Fumio during the talk and to aim for an early realization of an in-person meeting. This is my first summit telephone talk with a foreign leader since taking office, and I believe that having been able to hold this first telephone talk with the U.S. President served as an important step toward elevating the Japan-U.S. Alliance to new heights.