Japan, India criticize Biden for labeling them as 'xenophobic'
Japan and India have criticized US President Joe Biden for labeling them as "xenophobic", and alleging that the nations "don’t want immigrants."
At a campaign fundraising event on Wednesday, Biden claimed that economies of Japan and India, the earlier a critical US ally and the later a Washington's vital partner in the Indo-Pacific, have struggled because they do not "welcome" immigrants.
"One of the reasons why our economy's growing is because of you and many others. Why? Because we welcome immigrants,” Biden claimed at a hotel fundraiser where the donor audience was largely Asian American.
"Look, think about it. Why is China stalling so badly economically? Why is Japan having trouble? Why is Russia? Why is India? Because they're xenophobic. They don’t want immigrants," he said.
"Immigrants are what makes us strong. Not a joke. That’s not hyperbole, because we have an influx of workers who want to be here and want to contribute," Biden further claimed.
The remarks by the US president drew criticism from both Tokyo and New Delhi.
In a statement, the Japanese embassy in Washington DC slammed Biden's comments as "unfortunate", stressing that they "were not based on an accurate understanding of Japan’s policies."
It also said that it had “raised this point to the US government and explained Japan’s positions and policies once again.”
The embassy, however, noted that the remarks were "not made with the intent of undermining the importance of the Japan-US relationship."
Separately, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar rejected Biden's comments, stressing that India's economy "is not faltering" and that it has historically been a society that is very open.
"That's why we have the CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act), which is to open up doors for people who are in trouble ... I think we should be open to people who have the need to come to India, who have a claim to come to India," he said.
Last year, India became the world's fifth-largest economy, surpassing the United Kingdom.
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