Japanese embassy says Biden's reference to country being 'xenophobic' is 'unfortunate'

The Japanese embassy in Washington D.C. on Friday claimed that President Joe Biden's reference this week to Japan being "xenophobic" was an "unfortunate" misunderstanding, but that the mistake would not impact the relationship between the two countries.

The president made the comment during a campaign event on Wednesday, where he grouped Japan with other countries that were having economic issues because of their immigration policies. But Japan is a close ally of the United States, whereas the other countries were not.

“Why is China stalling so badly economically? Why is Japan having trouble? Why is Russia? Why is India?” Biden said during his speech, per Politico. “Because they’re xenophobic. They don’t want immigrants.”

The White House clarified later that Biden was highlighting the important role that immigrants played in the founding and strengthening of the U.S., and was not meant as a slight to Japan.

“It is unfortunate that some of the comments were not based on an accurate understanding of Japan’s policies,” the embassy told Politico in a statement. “We have raised this point to the U.S. government and explained Japan’s positions and policies once again ... We will continue to work with the U.S. to further strengthen our bilateral tie, building on the achievements of [the] official visit."

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited the White House for an official state visit last month, where the U.S. and Japan announced new initiatives in defense and technology. The most vital part of the new initiatives was strengthening military cooperation between Japan, the U.S., and Australia in the South China Sea, according to Voice of America News.