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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has called Japan and India “xenophobic” countries that do not welcome immigrants, lumping the two with adversaries China and Russia as he tried to explain their economic circumstances and contrasted the four with the U.S. on immigration.
The White House welcomed Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi for a state visit last summer.
Japan is a critical U.S. ally. And India, one of the world's fastest-growing economies, is a vital partner in the Indio-Pacific despite differences on human rights.
At a hotel fundraiser where the donor audience was largely Asian-American, Biden said the upcoming U.S. election was about “freedom, America and democracy” and that the nation's economy was thriving “because of you and many others.”
“Why? Because we welcome immigrants,” Biden said. “Look, think about it. Why is China stalling so badly economically? Why is Japan having trouble? Why is Russia? Why is India? Because they’re xenophobic. They don’t want immigrants.”
The president added: “Immigrants are what makes us strong. Not a joke. That’s not hyperbole, because we have an influx of workers who want to be here and want to contribute.”
There was no immediate reaction from either the Japanese or Indian governments.
Biden’s comments came at the start of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and he was introduced at the fundraiser by Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., one of two senators of Asian-American descent. She is a national co-chair for his reelection campaign.
Japan has acknowledged issues with its shrinking population, and the number of babies born in the country in 2023 fell for the eighth straight year, according to data released in February. Kishida has called the low birth rate in Japan “the biggest crisis Japan faces” and the country has long been known for a more closed-door stance on immigration, although Kishida’s government has, in recent years, shifted its policies to make it easier for foreign workers to come to Japan.
Meanwhile, India’s population has swelled to become the world’s largest, with the United Nations saying it was on track to reach 1.425 billion. Its population also skews younger. Earlier this year, India enacted a new citizenship law that fast-tracks naturalization for Hindus, Parsis, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Christians who fled to India from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. But it excludes Muslims, who are a majority in all three nations. It's the first time that India has set religious criteria for citizenship.
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Associated Press chief political reporter Steve Peoples contributed to this report.