Amazon.com Inc. AMZN founder Jeff Bezos, JPMorgan Chase JPM CEO Jamie Dimon and Apple Inc. AAPL CEO Tim Cook attended the state dinner hosted by President Joe Biden for Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Other prominent personalities like SoftBank's Masayoshi Son and Robert De Niro were also in attendance.
What Happened: The dinner, held on Wednesday, was a platform for the U.S. and Japan to strengthen their economic and security relations amid growing geopolitical concerns due to China and Russia.
Among other notable attendees were Larry Fink of Blackrock Inc., Jon Gray of Blackstone Inc., and Arvind Krishna of International Business Machines Corp. The dinner was accompanied by a three-course meal and entertainment by American singer-songwriter Paul Simon, reported Bloomberg.
Biden's White House dinner for Kishida was not just a state honor for the Japanese PM, but also to discuss the state of the U.S.-Japan alliance and defense issues. These issues, especially in the Indo-Pacific region, have been a key focus of Kishida and Biden’s meetings.
Biden and Kishida were expected to announce 70 new initiatives to counter China’s growing influence in the region. Amongst these is a new air defense network that comprises of Australia, apart from the U.S. and Japan.
Subscribe to the Benzinga Tech Trends newsletter to get all the latest tech developments delivered to your inbox.
Other initiatives aimed at strengthening technology partnerships and investments were also announced during the visit. Microsoft Corp. President Brad Smith announced a $2.9 billion investment in Japan’s hyperscale cloud computing and artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Why It Matters: The state dinner comes on the heels of a series of significant developments in U.S.-Japan relations. Earlier, Kishida also reached out to American business leaders, advocating for an uptick in technology investments within Japan.
Additionally, the U.S. and Japan are set to discuss a proposal to construct the first high-speed rail in the U.S. using Japanese bullet train technology, a move that could significantly impact the transportation sector in both countries.
Check out more of Benzinga’s Consumer Tech coverage by following this link.
Read Next: Apple Preps Biggest iPad Overhaul In Years After 18 Months Pause With New Pro, Air Models
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Photos courtesy: Shutterstock and Flickr
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.
