Japanese Media: "Biden Also Said in March That 'Japan Has Xenophobia'"

President Joe Biden of the United States
[Photo by Yonhap News]

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Japanese media claimed that U.S. President Joe Biden made remarks in March suggesting that "China, Japan, India, and others are xenophobic towards foreigners, which hinders economic growth." President Biden made similar remarks on the 1st of this month, provoking backlash from those countries.

According to reports, President Biden said in a Spanish-language radio interview recorded during his visits to Nevada and Arizona last March, "Japanese and Chinese people are xenophobic. Russians are too. They do not want people other than Russians, Chinese, or Japanese to be (within their countries). The United States is a nation of immigrants."

The newspaper stated that Biden's remarks appeared to be aimed at appealing to Spanish-speaking Latin American communities in battleground states expected to be competitive in the November election, and seemed intended to emphasize immigrants' contributions to the U.S.

However, the newspaper pointed out that "Biden's repeated remarks of a similar nature reveal a strong perception that 'Japanese people are xenophobic towards foreigners.'"

Earlier, on the 1st (local time), at a fundraising event held in Washington D.C., President Biden explained that the reason the U.S. economy is growing is thanks to immigrants, saying, "Why has China become so economically weak? Why is Japan struggling? Russia? India? Because they are xenophobic. They do not want immigrants."

At the time, U.S. media evaluated Japan as a country not open to immigration but also criticized President Biden for making a diplomatic faux pas less than a month after inviting Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio to the White House as a state guest.

In fact, Japanese media reported that the Japanese government conveyed a protest to the U.S. on the 3rd, expressing regret over remarks "not based on an accurate understanding of Japanese policy." On the same day, Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar refuted Biden's remarks at a media discussion event, stating, "India has historically been very open, and many people from other societies (foreigners) have come to India."

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