Biden rolls out diplomatic and literal red carpet for Japan leader’s visit

CNN
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President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden rolled out the diplomatic and literal red carpet for Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and first lady Yuko Kishida on Wednesday for their meticulously planned official visit. We will welcome him to the White House and include some highlights. American and Japanese culture, from the music of Paul Simon to the towering branches of cherry blossoms.

The White House will go all-in on the extravagance of the state visit as the president seeks to emphasize the strong alliance between the two countries. Biden has made the Indo-Pacific strategy and efforts to counter China key pillars of his foreign policy, even though the wars in Ukraine and Gaza received much attention during his first term. I have set it.

“We celebrate the flourishing friendship between Japan and the United States,” Jill Biden said Tuesday night in a media preview of the event.

He went on to emphasize the importance of the alliance, saying, “Our country is a partner in building a world that chooses creation over destruction, peace over bloodshed, and democracy over dictatorship.”

The Bidens welcomed the prime minister and his wife to the White House on Tuesday night, where they hosted them for a casual dinner at local seafood restaurant Black Salt. Proceedings are scheduled to begin Wednesday morning with an official arrival ceremony on the South Lawn, which will include a viewing ceremony, the singing of both countries’ national anthems, and greetings from both countries’ leaders. The leaders will then return to the Oval Office and hold bilateral talks. The two will hold a joint press conference in the afternoon.

In the evening, 230 guests arrive for a sumptuous black tie dinner. This is the result of weeks of planning by the White House social team, the East Wing, the State Department, and event planner Brian Rafanelli.

“Every detail” Jill “It was thoroughly planned by an incredible team from across the government,” Biden said Tuesday.

The first lady worked closely with White House Executive Chef Chris Comerford and White House Executive Chef Susie Morrison to create Wednesday’s menu, which blends American and Japanese flavors.

Guests dine on colorful first courses inspired by California rolls. Homemade salted salmon with avocado, grapefruit, watermelon radish, cucumber, and perilla fritters.

The main course was dry-aged ribeye steak, shishito pepper butter, fava beans and morel mushroom fricassee.

Pink and green dessert courses complement the color scheme, including salted caramel pistachio cake, matcha ganache, and cherry ice cream with raspberry drizzle.

The White House will offer wines from the Willamette Valley and Columbia Valley in the Pacific Northwest.

The first lady also paid special attention to the design of the evening’s decorations, which celebrate cherry blossoms, an important symbol of spring and U.S.-Japan relations.

Guests dine in the Garden, an east room with a floral-forward design filled with sweet peas, roses, peonies, hydrangeas, and cherry blossom branches. They are decorated with metallic pales decorated with floral patterns, pink glassware, china from the collection of George W. Bush and Lyndon B. Johnson, and special place cards and menus designed by the White House calligrapher. I sit on pale pink velvet chairs with green and white table covers. office.

The fan becomes a prominent symbol throughout the decoration, and this motif “represents the beginning of life, and each fold represents the different paths our lives can take,” said social secretary Carlos Elizondo. Ta. It will also serve as a backdrop for toasts among leaders.

Guests will cross vinyl flooring that mimics a koi pond as they walk down Cross Hall to the State Dining Room for the after-dinner performance.

Elizondo said Paul Simon will perform “a selection of his signature songs” for guests.

The close attention to diplomatic detail was also evident at Tuesday’s official gift exchange. According to the White House, the Bidens presented their partner with a three-legged black walnut table handcrafted by a Japanese-American-run company in Pennsylvania. The table is decorated with a special plate commemorating the visit.

The President also presented the Prime Minister with a custom framed lithograph, a two-LP set autographed by musician Billy Joel, and a collection of vintage vinyl records. The White House said that before last weekend’s SheBelieves Cup semifinal match, the first lady presented Yuko Kishida with a picture of the cherry blossom tree they had planted together and a football signed by the U.S. women’s national soccer team and the Japan women’s national soccer team. I gave him the ball.

Wednesday’s celebration marks the fifth time the Biden administration has hosted a state dinner.biden The White House has previously hosted state visits from the leaders of Australia, India, France and South Korea.

CNN’s Arlette Saenz, Kayla Tausche and Sam Fossum contributed to this report.