Japan’s State Visit

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       Japan Gives Washington 250 Cherry Trees as Replacements

       The trees will replace 140 that will be torn up as part of a restoration project. The capital’s first Japanese cherry trees were a gift from the mayor of Tokyo in 1912.

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       Cherry trees in bloom around the Tidal Basin in Washington last month.Credit...Al Drago for The New York Times

       By Aishvarya Kavi

       Reporting from Washington

       April 10, 2024

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       Japan is giving the United States 250 cherry trees to replace more than 100 that will be torn up during construction around the Tidal Basin in Washington, the Japanese prime minister, Fumio Kishida, said on Wednesday.

       The gift honors the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, which the United States will celebrate in 2026, Mr. Kishida said at a White House ceremony welcoming him for a state visit.

       President Biden thanked Mr. Kishida for the cherry trees, which have become a symbol of the relationship between the United States and its longtime ally as well as a popular tourist attraction in spring. The mayor of Tokyo gave Washington 3,000 of the trees, which are not native to the United States, in 1912.

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       Aishvarya Kavi is based in the Washington bureau. More about Aishvarya Kavi

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