Steak, cherry blossoms and Paul Simon will be featured at the White House state dinner for Japan
WASHINGTON -- Dry-aged rib eye steak, cherry blossoms and the music of Paul Simon are on tap for more than 200 guests who are expected to attend a swanky White House state dinner on Wednesday to celebrate the relationship between the United States and Japan.A lavish state dinner is a tool of U.S. diplomacy, a high honor that is doled out sparingly and only to America's closest allies. In the case of Japan, President Joe Biden has chosen to celebrate an ally that he sees as a cornerstone of his policy toward the Indo-Pacific region. Biden and his wife, Jill, are hosting Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his wife, Yuko, during the couple's official visit to the United States this week. The first lady on Tuesday described a “flourishing” relationship between the U.S. and its Pacific partner a...