Watch live as Joe Biden and Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida hold a joint press conference at the White House on Wednesday 10 April.

       It is expected that the leaders will showcase a strong and growing partnership during the state visit focused on joint defence cooperation to deter an aggressive China.

       Mr Kishida will also address Congress on Thursday and join Mr Biden and Philippines president Ferdinand Marcos Jr for a meeting expected to focus on Beijing’s South China Sea incursions.

       The US and Japan have hammered out about 70 agreements on defence cooperation, including moves to upgrade the US military command structure in Japan to make it better able to work with Japanese forces in a crisis.

       Mr Biden and Mr Kishida are also expected to announce steps to allow more joint development of military and defence equipment.

       Japan will now be a “full global partner” with the United States, with influence far beyond its region and into Europe and the Middle East, a senior Biden administration official told reporters on Tuesday, summing up the deals.