Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida addresses Congress

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – After meeting with President Joe Biden Wednesday, the Japanese prime minister delivered a speech to Congress Thursday.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told lawmakers the U.S. and Japan alliance is more important than ever.

He says countries throughout the Indo-Pacific are taking on unprecedented challenges from China.

In the face of an increasingly aggressive China and an unpredictable North Korea, Japan’s prime minister is re-enforcing his country’s decades-long alliance with the U.S.

“We are now at an inflection point that will define the next stage of human history,” Kishida.

The Japanese leader stressed the need for all democracies to band together to prevent war in the region.

“Ukraine of today may be East Asia of tomorrow,” Kishida said.

The Chinese government continues to threaten Taiwan and has attacked Philippine vessels in disputed areas of the South China Sea, but it calls the prime minister’s rhetoric a smear against China and accuses the U.S. and its allies of interfering in China’s internal affairs.

Prime Minister Kishida’s address was followed by a ceremonial luncheon with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Vice President Kamala Harris.

“That the U.S.-Japan alliance is the cornerstone of peace and stability in the region and America’s commitment to Japan’s defense is ironclad,” said Harris.

The two countries announced they’re taking their alliance to new heights…space.

A Japanese astronaut will join NASA’s upcoming Artemis lunar missions and become the first non-American astronaut on the moon.

” We’ve agreed to be the first two nations to step foot on its surface together,” said Blinken.

President Biden and Prime Minister Kishida are holding their first ever trilateral meeting with the Philippines president to discuss security in the region.

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