Outgoing Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is finalizing preparations for a visit to the United States in late September to attend the UN General Assembly and possibly meet with President Joe Biden. Yomiuri The newspaper reported this on Saturday.
The report, citing several unnamed government sources, said the visit could last several days, starting on September 22.
Japan's Foreign Ministry, in response to a request for comment from Reuters, said “nothing has been decided yet.”
Kishida dropped out of the running for leadership of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Wednesday, meaning he will step down as prime minister when his term as party leader ends at the end of September.
The date of the LDP election has not yet been set. It could happen as early as Sept. 20, in which case Kishida would likely address the General Assembly after Japan's Diet, where the LDP has a majority, elects his replacement as prime minister, according to Yomiuri.
Some in the Japanese government believe it would be better if Kishida's successor did not develop close ties with Biden, who is due to leave office in January, the newspaper reported.
Biden, who dropped out of the US presidential election in November, was replaced as the Democratic nominee last month by Vice President Kamala Harris. She is challenging the Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump.