During an official visit to the United States in April, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called for stronger bilateral economic relations through increased investments in Japan’s semiconductor, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing sectors, stressing that it will result in reciprocal investments from his country.

“I want to make this year a period when Japan can completely exit the mindset of deflation and cost cutting,” said Kishida, who emphasized his government’s commitment to propel the country towards the next economic stage.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden welcomed the prime minister’s comments as the two leaders celebrated the deep and historic ties between their countries.

“We very much welcome U.S. investments in Japan to foster collaboration on vital emerging technologies,” said Kishida, who believes his country will benefit from American expertise and resources in critical technological domains.

During the visit, Kishida also met with various American business leaders including executives from IBM, Pfizer, Boeing, Micron Technology, and Western Digital.

Stressing that Japan has remained the largest investor in the United States and has generated more than 1 million jobs in the country, Kishida also cited the collaboration between IBM and Japan’s Rapidus in advancing logic chip production.

Kishida said Japan was on its way to economic growth, mentioning the central bank’s recent interest rate hike and record share prices.