Kishida cracks jokes and invokes 'Star Trek' as he and Biden toast U.S.-Japan alliance at state dinner

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida cracked jokes and invoked a touchstone of American culture as he quoted from “Star Trek” at Wednesday’s state dinner.

WASHINGTON — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida cracked jokes and invoked a touchstone of American culture as he quoted from “Star Trek” at Wednesday’s state dinner, telling guests at the White House that he hoped the “unshakable relationship” between his country and the U.S. would “boldly go where no one had gone before.”

“I would like to propose a toast to our voyage to the frontier of the Japan-U.S. relationship with this word: boldly go,” Kishida said in English, quoting the iconic opening monologue of the original “Star Trek” series.

Kishida, who is on an official visit to the United States this week, and President Joe Biden exchanged warm toasts to each other and the decades-long alliance between their nations as top figures from business, sports and politics — including an ex-president — looked on. The two leaders, who expressed a genuine friendship, pledged to continue to knit together their countries’ interests in the face of global challenges.

Biden, 81, said he and Kishida, 66, came of age as their countries forged a strong bond in the decades after they were pitted against each other in World War II.

President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the White House on Wednesday.Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images“We both remember the choices that were made to forge a friendship,” Biden said. “We both remember the hard work, what it has done to find healing.”“Tonight,” Biden continued, “we pledge to keep going.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/joe-biden-fumio-kishida-japan-state-dinner-rcna147326

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