Joe Biden labels Quad allies India and Japan ‘xenophobic’

Under attack for ‘lax’ border control, Joe Biden has lumped Japan with India, China and Russia as ‘xenophobic’, saying they’re discouraging immigration at a cost to economies.

US President Joe Biden speaks at the White House about the Gaza campus protests on Wednesday US time, after his Asian American speech. Picture: AFP

Joe Biden has labelled Quad allies Japan and India as ‘xenophobic’, grouping the two nations in with China and Russia as he contrasted their alleged economic failures with the success of the US.

Speaking at a campaign event in Washington on Wednesday night (Thursday AEST), the US President said one of the reasons the US economy was growing in contrast to other large economies was because of rapid immigration, prompting a pushback from Japanese politicians and diplomats.

“Why is China stalling so badly economically? Why is Japan having trouble? Why is Russia? Why is India? Because they’re xenophobic. They don’t want immigrants,” he told a largely Asian American audience to celebrate Asian American history month.

The comments came weeks after Mr Biden hosted the Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the White House for a state dinner, where the advanced island nation indicated an interest in becoming part of AUKUS.

US President Joe Biden hosts Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the White House in April. Picture: AFP

Japan, which along with India, Australia and the US make up the Quad, has a famously strict immigration policy which has contributed to a steady decline in its population, from a peak of around 128 million in 2008 to around 122 million last year.

Russia’s and China’s population have started to decline too, owing to a mix of low birth rates, emigration and in China’s case years of mandating a one-child policy. The US population grew around 0.5 per cent in 2023 to just under 340 million.

“Immigrants is what makes us strong. Not a joke. That’s not hyperbole. Because we have an influx of workers who want to be here and just contribute,’’ the president said in comments that partly overshadowed his later remarks at the White House, where he condemned university protests.

Mizuho Umemura, a member of the conservative Japanese Nippon Ishin no Kai Party, said she hoped Mr Biden would “solve the problem in New York before he says things like this … depending on the presidential election, there could be a 180-degree change in policy, and there is no need for Japan to follow suit”, an apparent reference to Republican Donald Trump’s plans to expel millions of immigrants if he wins the presidency in November.

Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Wisconsin this week. Picture: Getty Images via AFP

The Biden administration has been accused by Republicans of lax immigration and border policies that have induced an influx of millions of illegal immigrants across the southern border with Mexico, an issue that’s become a top political concern according to most US polls.

Another Japanese politician, Sohei Kamiya, said US “failures” in immigration contributed to Japan’s hesitance to embrace similar practices.

“It’s not that we’re xenophobic, we are being cautious after seeing your failures … you are meddling too much in our internal affairs.’’

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was similarly received by the White House last year.

Elbridge Colby, a former senior Trump administration official in the Defence Department, said the remarks were “patronising and foolish”.

“Japan and India are two of our very stoutest and important allies. We should speak of them with respect, which they command and deserve,” he said on social media.

The president’s spokesman John Kirby later sought to defend the president’s comments. “I think the broader point the president was making, and I think people all around the world recognise this, is that the United States is a nation of immigrants and it’s in our DNA,’’ he told reporters.