By Trend

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden have begun talks in Tokyo. Footage of the meeting was shown on Monday by Japan’s public broadcaster, Trend reports citing TASS.

Prior to the talks, a welcoming ceremony was held at the entrance to Akasaka Palace with the anthems of the two countries played. Biden was greeted by a guard of honor.

Kishida and Biden are expected to discuss a broad range of issues, including the situation around Ukraine, sanctions against Russia, ways to reduce the dependence on Russian energy resources, action against China’s policy, North Korea’s nuclear missile program as well as defense cooperation between Tokyo and Washington.