TOKYO, March 5, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has been invited to address a joint session of the US Congress during a visit next month, congressional leaders said.

   The April 11 speech will be the first by a premier of the close US ally since the late Shinzo Abe did so in 2015, Japanese media reported.

   The White House had announced in January that President Joe Biden would host Kishida on April 10, calling Japan "one of our closest allies in the whole world".

   The visit, which includes a state dinner, shows Washington's focus on a crucial alliance with an eye on an increasingly assertive China and unpredictable North Korea.

   It will come eight months after Biden hosted Kishida and South Korea's premier at his Camp David retreat for a landmark summit that rattled China.

   "At a time when democracy is under threat from authoritarian regimes around the world, it is now more important than ever for the United States to show our support and maintain relationships with our allies and partners," the Senate's Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement on Monday.

   "Japan is a close ally -- critical to both our national and economic security. This visit will continue to deepen the diplomatic and security relationship between our two countries and build on the strength of decades of cooperation."