Japan PM to meet Biden on April 16

Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will hold face-to-face talks with Joe Biden in Washington on April 16, as the first foreign leader hosted by the US president, the Japanese government said yesterday. Local media had reported the trip would take place next week, but top government spokesman Katsunobu Kato said the mid-April date would give both sides time to prepare. The trip comes at a time of renewed focus on China's role in the region, as well as its alleged abuses of the Uyghur minority and its crackdown on freedoms in Hong Kong. The talks follow a visit by the Pentagon chief and top US diplomat to Japan in March, when the two countries warned China against "coercion and destabilising behaviour".