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Flying solo: The power of ‘spouse diplomacy’
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Mrs Yuko Kishida (left), wife of Japanese PM Fumio Kishida, and US First Lady Jill Biden, plant a cherry tree at the White House on April 17, 2023.
PHOTO: REUTERS
TOKYO – As top diplomats from the Group of Seven (G-7) advanced democracies were having their powwow in Japan this week, another aspect of big-power relations was taking place in the form of “spouse diplomacy”.
The spouses of the leaders of the United States and Japan – Dr Jill Biden and Mrs Yuko Kishida – met at the White House with hardly any involvement of their husbands, President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
