Photo/Illutration From right, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, U.S. President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol attend a joint news conference on Aug. 18 at Camp David. (Takeshi Iwashita)

WASHINGTON--Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden agreed here to jointly develop a new type of missile to intercept hypersonic weapons, a warfare “game changer.” 

The development, announced Aug. 18, is designed to counter moves by China, which is believed to have the most advanced hypersonic missiles.

Hypersonic missiles can fly at speeds exceeding Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound, and change course at random, making it extremely difficult to intercept them.

North Korea and Russia are also developing the technology.

Kishida and Biden met on the sidelines of historic trilateral talks that also included South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol held at Camp David on the outskirts of Washington.

According to the Japanese government, Kishida also thanked Biden for the support and understanding shown by the United States toward Japan’s plan to discharge treated radioactive water from the stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean.

The two leaders agreed to cooperate to prevent groundless rumors taking hold in relation to the treated water.

They also reaffirmed their intention to continue providing strong support to Ukraine as well as implement tough sanctions against Russia for its invasion of its neighbor. Those steps will be taken in conjunction with the Group of Seven.

Kishida also met separately with Yoon and the two leaders agreed to resume talks between their respective foreign vice ministers as well as push forward with preparations for high-level economic discussions slated for later this year.

(This article was written by Keishi Nishimura, Ryo Kiyomiya and Kiyohide Inada.)

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