Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his wife Yuko arrived in the United States on Tuesday night and were swiftly whisked to a seafood meal at a swanky Washington restaurant, after President Joe Biden and First Lady presented them with gifts including a signed record by American rocker Billy Joel.

On Wednesday, Biden rolls out the red carpet for the Kishidas with a gala state dinner in the grand East Room of the White House, decorated by fans and cherry blossom branches.

White House chefs will serve a meal featuring Japanese flavors, starting with house-cured salmon, followed by dry aged rib-eye with wasabi sauce, and salted caramel pistachio cake with cherry ice cream.

After dinner, prominent US singer-songwriter Paul Simon “will perform a selection of his iconic songs,” White House Social Secretary Carlos Elizondo told reporters.

The concert will end a day that will see Biden and Kishida, 66, take a major step forward in defense ties.

Behind the pomp is serious business, they will unveil plans to restructure the US military command in Japan — the biggest boost to defense cooperation since the 1960s — to be more responsive to threats.

The leaders will agree to change the US-Japan command and control structure, which currently sees the 54,000 US military personnel in Japan having to report back to Hawaii, senior US administration officials said.

This would make their two militaries more nimble in a crisis, for example a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, experts said.

They will also agree to deepen cooperation on space and technology.

Kishida is the first Japanese leader to get a US state visit since Shinzo Abe in 2015, and only the fifth world leader to receive one since Biden took office in 2021.

Staunchly pacifist for decades, Japan has in recent years made “some of the most significant, momentous changes” since World War II, US ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel said ahead of the visit.