First Lady Pool Reports of April 17, 2023

FLOTUS Pool Report #1 (4/17/23)-Greetings

Konnichiwa or hello from the White House.

My name is Taka Abe with Japan's Nippon Television. It's my pleasure to be your FLOTUS print pool reporter this afternoon covering First Lady Dr. Jill Biden's tree planting ceremony with Mrs. Kishida Yuko, spouse of Prime Minister Kishida Fumio of Japan, on the White House South Grounds.

As a reminder, in official documents, Japan changed the way Japanese names are written in English by placing the family name first, the same way they are written in Japanese. So Kishida is her family name, and Yuko is her first name.

Dr. Biden and Mrs. Kishida will participate in a tree planting ceremony of a new cherry tree on the White House South Grounds in honor of the long standing friendship between the United States and Japan.

According to the office of the First Lady, the new sapling is a Yoshino cherry tree, which was propagated from a cutting of one of the existing cherry trees that was planted on the South Grounds in July, 2017. This tree may grow up to 40 feet tall in its lifespan. Across the White House Grounds, there are currently 23 cherry trees.

Dr. Biden will host Mrs. Kishida for a luncheon at the White House before the tree planting ceremony. It will be closed press.

FLOTUS Pool Report #2 (4/17/23)-Background information about Mrs. Kishida and her visit

*Who is Mrs. Kishida?

Mrs. Kishida Yuko was born on August 15, 1964 in Miyoshi, Hiroshima Prefecture.
In 1987, she graduated from Tokyo Woman's Christian University, and joined Mazda Motor Corporation.
In 1988, she married Prime Minister Kishida Fumio when Mrs. Kishida was 24 years old and Prime Minister Kishida was 31.
The couple has three sons.

Mrs. Kishida doesn't talk about her daily life with Prime Minister Kishida a lot, but she has shared some stories in the past.

During an interview with a Japanese magazine, Mrs. Kishida said when she first saw her husband she knew he was the man she would probably marry.

When the couple appeared on Instagram Live, Mrs. Kishida revealed that their first date was the MAHARAJA, a legendary high-end disco in Roppongi, Tokyo.

*Why is Mrs. Kishida visiting the White House alone today?

According to the Japanese Government, this visit is at the invitation of Dr. Biden, and Mrs. Kishida is her guest of honor.

On January 13th, Prime Minister Kishida visited the White House to meet President Biden, but Mrs. Kishida didn't accompany with him, as Dr. Biden had just undergone surgery to remove a small lesion above her right eye two days before the visit, and was unable to meet with Mrs. Kishida.

According to a Japanese source, Dr. Biden proposed Mrs. Kishida's visit to the White House this month.

According to the Japanese Government, this is the first time that the spouse of the Prime Minister of Japan will make a solo trip to the United States at the invitation of the First Lady of the United States.

There are only several spouses of foreign leaders who have visited the White House to meet Dr. Biden at her invitation, including Ukraine's first lady, Olena Zelenska.

*Mrs. Kishida's schedule

Yesterday, after arriving Washington, D.C. from Tokyo, Japan, Mrs. Kishida visited the National Cherry Blossom Festival and the National Museum of Asian Art. Today, after visiting the White House, Mrs. Kishida will visit Howard University to meet students who participated in the KAKEHASHI Project, a government funded grassroots exchange program. She will leave Washington, D.C. tomorrow on Tuesday, the 18th.

FLOTUS Pool Report #3 (4/17/23)-Tree planting ceremony

Dr. Biden and Mrs. Kishida arrived at the tree planting ceremony site on the White House South Grounds near the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden at 1:34pm.

Dr. Biden wore a white dress with a floral pattern with a pink blazer. Mrs. Kishida wore a light pink sakura colored suit and a matching skirt, both commemorating the sakura cherry blossom tree planting with shades of pink in their fashion.

Dr. Biden made very brief remarks.

She said, "Yuko, welcome to the White House, welcome to the United States. The planting of this tree is a symbol of the friendship between our two nations forever and ever."

She joked "this is how you always plant a tree--in heels" afterward.

Dr. Biden and Mrs. Kishida used golden shovels and dumped shovelfuls of dirt around the tree.

They had a photo session in front of the tree and left without taking any questions at 1:36pm.

That's it from your FLOTUS print pool reporter covering the tree planting ceremony.

Have a great rest of your day.