Kishida, who will host a summit of the Group of Seven (G7) industrial powers in May, will meet leaders of the United States, Britain, France, Italy and Canada this week. "As leader of the G7 chair this year, I'll be making this visit to reaffirm our thinking on a number of issues," Kishida told a Sunday news programme. "With the United States, we'll discuss deepening our bilateral alliance and how to maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific." On semiconductors, Japan and the United States are deepening cooperation on advanced chip development amid growing trade tension with China. "Holding a successful G7 summit would bring him maximum political points - and this trip is preparation for that," said Airo Hino, a political science professor at Waseda University.

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