President Joe and Jill Biden will transform the White House into a spring garden – complete with a koi pond and floating lily pads – when they welcome Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his wife for a state dinner on Wednesday night.
‘The State floor will transform into a vibrant spring garden, a place of joy and renewal of hope and growth,’ first lady Jill Biden said on Tuesday when she previewed the dinner for journalists.
Legendary singer Paul Simon will perform for guests after their meal of home cured salmon, rib eye steak and salted caramel pistachio cake with cherry ice cream.
The ice cream is in honor of President Biden. It’s his favorite dessert. There will be West Coast wines on the table for Kishida, who’s known to have a high tolerance for alcohol.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden welcome Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and his wife Kishida Yuko to the White House on Tuesday for an informal greeting
Jill Biden revealed the White House decor and menu for Thursday night’s state dinner
The celebration began early. Kishida and his wife Yuko stopped by the White House on Tuesday evening for an informal greeting from the Bidens.
Then the two couples went out to dinner in Washington D.C. at Blacksalt Restaurant, which is known for its seafood.
The real magic happens on Wednesday night. When the 230 guests enter the state floor of the White House, they’ll enter on a floor covered in the illusion of a koi pond with floating lily pads adorned with cherry blossoms.
‘I can’t wait to see this astounding floor covering just transforms the hall into a river of spring blossom,’ Jill Biden admitted.
Event designer Bryan Rafanelli, who also planned Naomi Biden’s White House wedding, came in to help with decor. He came up with idea for the koi pond (although there will be no live fish present).
The illusion of a pond will cover the 80-foot crosshall that connects the East Room, where guests will dine, to the State Dining Room, where Paul Simon will peform.
‘It’s beautiful reflective interior photographic,’ he said of his design. ‘So you really do feel the sensitivity and then in the scale of the room, it will come alive.’
Colorful hydrangeas will be along the walls. On the dinner tables will be arrangements of hydrangeas, sweet peas, and peonies. Silk and glass butterflies will sit among the place sittings.
Some tables will have a green china that is from George W. Bush’s presidency while others will have a flower-patterned china from President Lyndon B. Johnson’s era.
The inspiration for the evening was spring in both nations, White House Social Secretary Carlos Elizondo noted.
‘The magic of spring in our lasting friendship. Each detail chosen to create a once in a lifetime experience,’ he noted.
The process of planning a state dinner takes months. Staff gather a few months before the actual date to give the first lady options on decor and food. She makes final decisions.
The food was inspired by the spring season.
The first course dish of House-cured Salmon, avocados, red Grapefruit, watermelon radish, cucumber shisho leaf fritters (left), main course dish of dry-aged rib eye steak, blistered shishito pepper butter, fricassee of fava beans, morels and cipollini Sesame oil sabayon (center), dessert course of salted caramel pistachio cake, matcha ganache and cherry ice cream with raspberry drizzle (right)
On the dinner tables are arrangements of hydrangeas, sweet peas, and peonies
Glass and silk butterflies sit among the place sittings
The salad course of salmon, which was cured at the White House, avocados, red grapefruit, watermelon radish, and cucumber was inspired by the California Spring Roll.
The beef in the second course is from Maryland and the mushrooms are seasonal. Dessert inspired by cherry blossoms in bloom in both countries.
Kishida is the fifth state guest of Biden, who has also hosted leaders of India, Australia, South Korea and France.
Biden is hosting Kishida for the first state visit by a Japanese leader in nine years.
A state dinner is the highest honor the United States can give an ally.
The economy and security issues – including countering China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region – is on the agenda.
Biden is also expected to bring up his opposition to Nippon Steel’s planned purchase of U.S. Steel.
Lawmakers from both parties and the powerful United Steelworkers union have expressed opposition to the purchase, for which Nippon is paying $14.1 billion in cash.
It has raised concerns about what this could mean for unionized workers, supply chains and U.S. national security.
U.S. Steel is based in Pennsylvania and the planned purchase is a huge controversy in the battleground state that will be a must-win for Biden in November’s presidential election.
Kishida told the Washington Post he does not plan to discuss the deal with Biden.
But White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Tuesday of the president: ‘He’s been very clear that he’s going to stand up for American workers. He is going to defend their interests. He’s also been very clear that he is going to make sure that the US Japan alliance is the strongest it’s ever been. He’s going to accomplish both of those things.’
The Lyndon B. Johnson china (left) and the George W. Bush china (right) will be used at the state dinner on Wednesday night
White House Executive Chef Cristeta Comerford (left) and White House Executive Pastry Chef Susie Morrison (right) present the dinner dishes
Jill Biden greets Yuko Kishida with a hug as she and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrive at the White House ahead of the prime minister’s meetings on Wednesday with President Biden
Biden will welcome Kishida to the White House on Wednesday for an Oval Office meeting, a press conference and a state dinner. On Thursday, Kishida is scheduled to deliver a speech at a joint meeting of Congress.
The prime minister and his wife arrived in the U.S. on Monday evening. On Tuesday Kishida visited Arlington National Cemetery and met with Microsoft officials at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Kishida on Friday will tour new Toyota and Honda plants in North Carolina to highlight Japan’s economic importance as the largest foreign investor in the United States. He will also meet students at North Carolina State University.
During their talks, Biden will push for the U.S. to have its own high-speed train when he meets with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida this week.
The train, which would be based on Japan’s famous high-speed bullet trains, would link Dallas and Houston, Reuters reported.
Biden, who frequently talks of his love for Amtrak, announced in December $500,000 toward a high-speed railway in Texas as part of his infrastructure act. The railway would help cut down on traffic between the state’s two largest cities.
The 240-mile journey would be cut from 3-4 hours by car to 90 minutes. The project is expected to cost between $25 billion and $30 billion. The high-speed train would be able to go at 200 mph.
A high-speed rail in Texas has been discussed for decades but has been repeatedly stymied by private land owners who oppose the train being built on their property.
The proposed route includes residences, farms and ranches.
Japanese state lenders, including the Japan Bank for International Corporation, have provided loans to help develop the project, which is procuring shinkansen bullet train technology from Central Japan Railways Company.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida participates lays a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery
First lady Jull Biden, President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his wife Yuko Kishida pose for a group photo
From left to right: Jill Biden, White House Social Secretary Carlos Elizondo, White House Executive Chef Cristeta Comerford and White House Executive Pastry Chef Susie Morrison give a media briefing on state dinner plans
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his spouse Yuko Kishida arrive at Joint Base Andrews
Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, left, and his wife Yuko Kishida arrived in the U.S. on Monday for a state visit
During his visit, the prime minister will emphasize that Japan and the U.S. are now global partners working to maintain a rules-based international order, and that Japan is willing to take on a greater international role in security, economy and space to help Washington.
Kishida lived in New York for three years as a child. Before becoming prime minister, he served as foreign minister, where he helped bring world leaders to Hiroshima for the G7 summit to discuss nuclear disarmament.
He loves baseball and is known to have a high tolerance for alcohol.
Both he and Biden are fighting to keep their jobs. Biden faces a rematch with Republican rival Donald Trump in November.
And Kishida’s approval ratings hit record lows amid a political scandal involving his ruling Liberal Democratic Party and political fundraising.
In their meetings, Kishida and Biden are expected to confirm Japan’s participation in NASA’s Artemis moon program and the contribution of a moon rover developed by Toyota Motor Corp.
A Japanese astronaut will join the program. The rover, which comes at a roughly $2 billion cost, is the most expensive contribution to the mission by a non-U.S. partner to date, a U.S. official said told the AP.
Thursday will see the first trilateral summit between Biden, Kishida and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Defense issues will top the agenda as both Japan and the Philippines worry about Beijing’s moves toward territory they claim in the South China Sea, which China claims almost in its entirety.
Kishida will discuss how Chinese coast guard ships regularly approach disputed Japanese-controlled East China Sea islands near Taiwan.
And Marcos Jr. is worried about the Second Thomas Shoal, a submerged reef that is contested in the Spratly Islands.
The Chinese coastguard has used water cannons to prevent the Philippines from resupplying marines stationed on the Sierra Madre, a rusting ship that Manila intentionally grounded on the reef in 1999 to reinforce its claims in the region.
Japan has sold coastal radars to the Philippines and is negotiating a defense agreement that would allow their troops to visit each other’s territory for joint military exercises.
Chinese Coast Guard vessels fire water cannons towards a Philippine resupply vessel Unaizah May 4 on its way to a resupply mission at Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea
The war in the Ukraine will also be discussed. Kishida has pushed sweeping changes to fortify Japan’s defense capabilities since taking office in 2021.
Since the Russian invasion of its neighbor, Kishida has repeatedly warned that ‘Ukraine today may be East Asia tomorrow.’
Vladimir Putin’s move sparked fear in Japan that without a strong response, it could embolden China to attack Taiwan and lead to war in the Asia-Pacific region.
If Russia prevails, ‘it would show that force can actually bring benefits, even when breaking international law. If so, what would happen to East Asia? We must not allow any country to receive the wrong message,’ Kishida told The Washington Post at his official residence in Tokyo ahead of the visit.
Tokyo has been one of the largest donors to Kyiv since Russia’s February 2022 invasion.
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