Biden to push for the first bullet train in the U.S. in meeting with Japanese PM: High-speed line linking Dallas and Houston would take 90 minutes and cost up to $30billion

President Joe Biden will push for the U.S. to have its own high-speed train when he meets with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida this week.

The train, which would be based on Japan’s famous high-speed bullet trains, would link Dallas and Houston, Reuters reported.

Biden, who frequently talks of his love for Amtrak, announced in December $500,000 toward a high-speed railway in Texas as part of his infrastructure act. The railway would help cut down on traffic between the state’s two largest cities.

The 240-mile journey would be cut from 3-4 hours by car to 90 minutes. The project is expected to cost between $25 billion and $30 billion. The high-speed train would be able to go at 200 mph.

A high-speed rail in Texas has been discussed for decades but has been repeatedly stymied by private land owners who oppose the train being built on their property.

The proposed route includes residences, farms and ranches. 

Japanese state lenders, including the Japan Bank for International Corporation, have provided loans to help develop the project, which is procuring shinkansen bullet train technology from Central Japan Railways Company. 

This week, Biden is hosting Kishida for the first state visit by a Japanese leader in nine years. 

The economy and security – including countering China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region – is on the agenda. Biden is also expected to bring up his opposition to Nippon Steel’s planned purchase of U.S. Steel.

Lawmakers from both parties and the powerful United Steelworkers union have expressed opposition to the purchase, for which Nippon is paying $14.1 billion in cash.

It has raised concerns about what this could mean for unionized workers, supply chains and U.S. national security.

U.S. Steel is based in Pennsylvania and the planned purchase is a huge controversy in the battleground state that will be a must-win for Biden in November’s presidential election.

Kishida told the Washington Post he does not plan to discuss the deal with Biden. 

Biden will welcome Kishida to the White House on Wednesday for an Oval Office meeting, a press conference and a state dinner. On Thursday, Kishida is scheduled to deliver a speech at a joint meeting of Congress. 

The prime minister and his wife arrived in the U.S. on Monday evening. They will stop by the White House in the evening ahead of Wednesday’s formal visit. Also on Tuesday Kishida is set to visit Arlington National Cemetery and stop by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Kishida on Friday will tour new Toyota and Honda plants in North Carolina to highlight Japan’s economic importance as the largest foreign investor in the United States. He will also meet students at North Carolina State University.

On his visit, the prime minister will emphasize that Japan and the U.S. are now global partners working to maintain a rules-based international order, and that Japan is willing to take on a greater international role in security, economy and space to help Washington. 

Kishida lived in New York for three years as a child. Before becoming prime minister, he served as foreign minister, where he helped bring world leaders to Hiroshima for the G7 summit to discuss nuclear disarmament.

He loves baseball and is known to have a high tolerance for alcohol. 

Both he and Biden are fighting to keep their jobs. Biden faces a rematch with Republican rival Donald Trump in November. 

And Kishida’s approval ratings hit record lows amid a political scandal involving his ruling Liberal Democratic Party and political fundraising.

In their meetings, Kishida and Biden are expected to confirm Japan’s participation in NASA’s Artemis moon program and the contribution of a moon rover developed by Toyota Motor Corp. 

A Japanese astronaut will join the program. The rover, which comes at a roughly $2 billion cost, is the most expensive contribution to the mission by a non-U.S. partner to date, a U.S. official said told the AP.

Thursday will see the first trilateral summit between Biden, Kishida and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Defense issues will top the agenda as both Japan and the Philippines worry about Beijing’s moves toward territory they claim in the South China Sea, which China claims almost in its entirety.

Kishida will discuss how Chinese coast guard ships regularly approach disputed Japanese-controlled East China Sea islands near Taiwan. 

And Marcos Jr. is worried about the Second Thomas Shoal, a submerged reef that is contested in the Spratly Islands. 

The Chinese coastguard has used water cannons to prevent the Philippines from resupplying marines stationed on the Sierra Madre, a rusting ship that Manila intentionally grounded on the reef in 1999 to reinforce its claims in the region.

Japan has sold coastal radars to the Philippines and is negotiating a defense agreement that would allow their troops to visit each other’s territory for joint military exercises.

The war in the Ukraine will also be discussed. Kishida has pushed sweeping changes to fortify Japan’s defense capabilities since taking office in 2021.

Since the Russian invasion of its neighbor, Kishida has repeatedly warned that ‘Ukraine today may be East Asia tomorrow.’ 

Vladimir Putin’s move sparked fear in Japan that without a strong response, it could embolden China to attack Taiwan and lead to war in the Asia-Pacific region. 

If Russia prevails, ‘it would show that force can actually bring benefits, even when breaking international law. If so, what would happen to East Asia? We must not allow any country to receive the wrong message,’ Kishida told The Washington Post at his official residence in Tokyo ahead of the visit.

Tokyo has been one of the largest donors to Kyiv since Russia’s February 2022 invasion.