Japan and India reject Biden's comments describing them as xenophobic countries

TOKYO -- Japan and India connected Saturday decried remarks by U.S. President Joe Biden describing them arsenic “xenophobic” countries that bash not invited immigrants, which the president said during a run fundraising lawsuit earlier successful the week.

Japan said Biden's judgement was not based connected an close knowing of its policy, portion India rebutted the comment, defending itself arsenic the world’s astir unfastened society.

Biden grouped Japan and India arsenic “xenophobic” countries, on with Russia and China arsenic helium tried to explicate their struggling economies, contrasting the 4 with the spot of the U.S. arsenic a federation of immigrants.

Japan is simply a cardinal U.S. ally, and some Japan and India are portion of the Quad, a U.S.-led informal concern that besides includes Australia successful countering progressively assertive China successful the Indo-Pacific.

Just weeks ago, Biden hosted Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida connected an authoritative visit, arsenic the 2 leaders restated their “unbreakable alliance” and agreed to reenforce their information ties successful the look of China’s menace successful the Indo-Pacific.

Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi besides made a authorities sojourn to Washington past year, erstwhile helium was welcomed by concern and governmental leaders.

The White House said Biden meant nary discourtesy and was simply stressing that the U.S. was a federation of immigrants, saying helium had nary volition of undermining the narration with Japan.

Japan is alert of Biden's remark arsenic good arsenic the consequent clarification, a Japanese authorities authoritative said Saturday, declining to beryllium named owed to the sensitivity of the issue.

The authoritative said it was unfortunate that portion of Biden's code was not based connected an close knowing of Japanese policies, and that Japan understands that Biden made the remark to stress the beingness of immigrants arsenic America’s strength.

Japan-U.S. relations are “stronger than ever” arsenic Prime Minister Kishida showed during his sojourn to the U.S. successful April, the authoritative said.

In New Delhi, India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar connected Saturday besides rebutted Biden’s comment, saying India was the astir unfastened nine successful the world.

``I haven’t seen specified an open, pluralistic, and divers nine anyplace successful the world. We are really not conscionable not xenophobic, we are the astir open, astir pluralistic and successful galore ways the astir knowing nine successful the world,” Jaishankar said astatine a roundtable organized by the Economic Times newspaper.

Jaishankar besides noted that India’s yearly GDP maturation is 7% and said, “You cheque immoderate different countries’ maturation rate, you volition find an answer.” The U.S. system grew by 2.5% successful 2023, according to authorities figures.

At a edifice fundraiser Wednesday, wherever the donor assemblage was mostly Asian American, Biden said the upcoming U.S. election was astir “freedom, America and democracy” and that the nation’s system was thriving “because of you and galore others.”

“Why? Because we invited immigrants,” Biden said. “Look, deliberation astir it. Why is China stalling truthful severely economically? Why is Japan having trouble? Why is Russia? Why is India? Because they’re xenophobic. They don’t privation immigrants.”

Japan has been known for a strict stance connected immigration. But successful caller years, it has eased its policies to marque it easier for overseas workers to travel and enactment successful Japan arsenic a mode to mitigate its declining births and rapidly shrinking population. The fig of babies calved successful Japan past twelvemonth fell to a grounds debased since Japan started compiling the statistic successful 1899.

India, which has the world’s largest population, enacted a caller citizenship instrumentality earlier this twelvemonth by mounting spiritual criteria that allows fast-tracking naturalization for Hindus, Parsis, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Christians who fled to India from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, portion excluding Muslims.

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AP writers Ashok Sharma successful New Delhi and Seung Min Kim successful Washington contributed to this report.