Kishida leaves on tour to Western allies

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday left on a tour of Europe and North America with security-focused talks on the agenda after his nation's biggest military policy overhaul in decades.

Japan holds the 2023 presidency of the G7, and Kishida will visit bloc members France, Italy, the United Kingdom and Canada starting on Monday. Kishida's final stop is the United States — his first visit to Washington as prime minister — where he will meet President Joe Biden on Friday.