Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Saturday left Tokyo for the United States on his final overseas trip before stepping down as his country's leader.
During the trip, Kishida is set to attend a summit of "the Quad" countries — Japan, the United States, Australia and India — near Wilmington, Delaware. He will also deliver a speech for the Summit of the Future to be held at the United Nations in New York.
He is scheduled to return to Japan on Tuesday.
Before departing Tokyo's Haneda Airport aboard a government plane, Kishida told reporters at the Prime Minister's Office that he hopes to "further boost cooperation with (other) Quad nations to achieve a free and open Indo-Pacific region."
He said he will voice his views on building a peaceful, free and rich world in his speech at the Summit of the Future.
He also disclosed plans to hold talks with U.S. President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his U.S. trip.
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