- Written by Bernd Debsmann Jr.
- BBC News, Washington
image source, Getty Images
Joe Biden’s labeling of Japan as “xenophobic” is “unfortunate” and not based on an “accurate” understanding of Japan, the Japanese embassy in the US said.
The US president said at a campaign fundraiser earlier this week that Japan, India, China and Russia “do not want immigrants.”
The White House said he meant no harm and emphasized America’s immigration policy.
But the comments have drawn scorn from some observers in the United States and abroad.
“Why is China failing so badly economically? Why is Japan in trouble? Why Russia? Why India? Because they’re xenophobic. They don’t want immigrants.” . ”
The U.S. government later clarified that his comments were meant in the context of explaining that “America is a nation of immigrants, and immigration makes America stronger,” and that his comments were not intended to “damage” Japan-U.S. relations. did.
The Japanese embassy said Friday it was “aware” of the explanation.
“It is unfortunate that some of the comments were not based on an accurate understanding of Japanese policy,” the statement added.
Japan’s traditionally strict immigration policies have been relaxed in recent years to cope with a steadily declining population.
Biden’s comments came less than a month after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said during a state visit to Washington that the Japan-U.S. alliance “cannot be broken.”
The embassy said the visit showed that the Japan-U.S. relationship is “stronger than ever.”
Biden’s remarks were also criticized by China.
Chen Weihua is a well-known columnist for the state-run newspaper China Daily. X/Twitter said the US president is “obsessed with slandering China…this is a serious mental illness.”
The Indian government has not directly responded to Biden’s comments. But Indian economist and journalist Madhavan Narayanan told an Abu Dhabi-based national newspaper that it was “wrong” to say the country doesn’t want migrants.
“India was attractive both to wealthy foreigners and to very low-wage immigrants from Bangladesh and other poor countries,” he said.
Biden has taken an increasingly restrictive approach to immigration amid growing dissatisfaction with his handling of problems, particularly at the U.S.-Mexico border.
