WASHINGTON (NEWSnet/AP)—Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida began a much-anticipated visit to Washington on Tuesday.

The visit spotlights shared concerns about Chinese military action in the Pacific and a Japanese company’s plan to buy an iconic U.S. company.

Kishida and his wife stopped by the White House Tuesday evening before Wednesday’s official visit and formal state dinner. Kishida will be the fifth world leader honored by Biden with a state dinner since he took office in 2021.

Biden and Kishida on Wednesday will hold talks and participate in a joint news conference before Biden fetes the Japanese leader with the state dinner in the East Room.

The prime minister has also been invited to address a joint meeting of Congress on Thursday. He will be just the second Japanese leader to address the body; Shinzo Abe gave a speech to Congress in 2015.

The visit comes after Biden announced last month that he opposes the planned sale of Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel of Japan.

Nippon Steel announced in December that it planned to buy U.S. Steel for $14.1 billion in cash, raising concerns about what the transaction could mean for unionized workers, supply chains and U.S. national security. 

The leaders are expected to discuss plans to upgrade the U.S. military command structure in Japan. There are about 54,000 U.S. troops stationed in Japan.

Kishida and Biden are also expected to confirm Japan’s participation in NASA’s Artemis moon program as well as its contribution of a moon rover developed by Toyota Motor Corp. and the inclusion of a Japanese astronaut in the mission.

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