Biden hails 'unbreakable' U.S.-Japan ties at start of Kishida summit

President Joe Biden hailed "unbreakable" U.S.-Japanese ties Wednesday as he greeted Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for a lavish White House summit featuring a major upgrade in defense ties against China -- and music by Paul Simon.

Biden rolled out the red carpet for the 66-year-old Kishida and his wife Yuko to underscore the importance of Japan as a bastion in the Asia-Pacific region against a resurgent Beijing.

Welcoming the Japanese leader, Biden said "the partnership between us is unbreakable."

Behind the pomp of the state visit is serious business with the two leaders set to unveil plans to restructure the U.S. military command in Japan -- the biggest boost to defense cooperation since the 1960s -- to be more responsive to threats.

Kishida and Biden were to give a joint press conference in the White House Rose Garden at 12:30 pm (1630 GMT).

First Lady Jill Biden, giving a preview of the gala state dinner rounding off the day's events, said the visit would "celebrate the flourishing friendship between the United States and Japan."

"Our nations are partners in a world where we choose creation over destruction, peace over bloodshed, and democracy over autocracy," she told reporters.

The visit underscores the importance Biden places on building alliances against countries such as China, Russia, North Korea and Iran, in an increasingly uncertain world rocked by wars in Gaza and Ukraine.

"We will judge it to be a remarkable and historic summit," a senior U.S. administration official told reporters ahead of the visit.

On Thursday, Biden will also host the first trilateral summit between Japan, the Philippines and the United States, aiming to deepen their alliances in the face of escalating maritime tensions with China.

Hanging over the U.S. and Japanese leaders will be the thorny topic of a Japanese takeover of U.S. Steel, a deal opposed by Biden as he faces a tough reelection battle against protectionist, right-wing former president Donald Trump.

But U.S. officials have said that they are not expected to discuss the Nippon Steel deal, focusing instead on announcing a raft of deals amid a thickly laid-on protocol.

The Kishidas arrived on Tuesday night and were swiftly whisked by the Bidens to a seafood meal at a swanky Washington restaurant. The Bidens also presented them with gifts including a signed record by U.S. rocker Billy Joel.

On Wednesday, the state dinner will be held in the grand East Room of the White House, decorated by fans and cherry blossom branches.

White House chefs will serve a meal featuring Japanese flavors, starting with house-cured salmon, followed by dry-aged rib eye with wasabi sauce, and salted caramel pistachio cake with cherry ice cream.

After dinner, prominent U.S. singer-songwriter Paul Simon "will perform a selection of his iconic songs", White House Social Secretary Carlos Elizondo told reporters.

The concert will end a day that will see Biden and Kishida take a major step forward in defense ties.

The leaders will agree to change the U.S.-Japan command and control structure, which currently sees the 54,000 U.S. military personnel in Japan having to report back to Hawaii, senior U.S. administration officials said.

This would make their two militaries more nimble in a crisis, for example a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, experts said.

They will also agree to deepen cooperation on space and technology.

Kishida is the first Japanese leader to get a U.S. state visit since Shinzo Abe in 2015, and only the fifth world leader to receive one since Biden took office in 2021.

Staunchly pacifist for decades, Japan has in recent years made "some of the most significant, momentous changes" since World War II, U.S. ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel said ahead of the visit.