Japan's Kishida set to talk military buildup, chips on G7 tour

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida starts a tour of key Western partners on Monday, after unveiling his country's biggest military buildup since World War Two as Tokyo weighs steps to counter China's growing power.

Kishida, who will host a summit of the Group of Seven (G7) industrial powers in May, will meet leaders of the United States, Britain, France, Italy and Canada this week. Talks are expected to range from economic security and semiconductors to the war in Ukraine and rising tensions with nuclear-armed China and North Korea.

"As leader of the G7 chair this year, I'll be making this visit to reaffirm our thinking on a number of issues," Kishida told a Sunday news program.

"With the United States, we'll discuss deepening our bilateral alliance and how to maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific."

He visits London and Rome after agreeing last month to develop a new jet fighter with those countries. He is to sign a deal with Britain that will establish a legal framework to allow visits by each other's armed forces, the Yomiuri newspaper reported on Friday.