When Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga becomes the first world leader to be hosted by US President Joe Biden on Friday (Saturday AEST), restoring trust in the US-Japan alliance and deepening co-operation will top the agenda. This includes dealing with a still rising China, North Korea’s nuclear weapons, climate change and COVID-19.

After the damage wrought by the Trump administration, the Biden administration’s focus on co-operation has been welcomed by US allies including Japan. Yet as China continues to rise and the United States encourages allies to take on greater burden-sharing efforts, there is a risk of a serious perception gap emerging between Japan and the United States.