Kishida to visit U.S. just before stepping down

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is considering traveling to New York late next month, just before he steps down, to deliver a speech before the U.N. General Assembly, government officials said Tuesday.
The visit is expected to be Kishida’s final overseas trip while in office as he announced a decision last week not to seek reelection in the Sept. 27 leadership election for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
While in New York, Kishida is expected to hold bilateral meetings with U.S. President Joe Biden and other global leaders.
Kishida is also likely to attend a summit of “the Quad” countries of Japan, the United States, Australia and India, and a high-level meeting on a proposed Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty, which would ban production of weapons-grade uranium and plutonium.
Kishida’s immediate predecessor, Yoshihide Suga, visited Washington in September 2021 to attend a Quad summit just after announcing his intention to step down.