Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Friday said cooperation with neighbours South Korea and the Philippines alongside their shared U.S. ally was important for regional security.

Kishida made his comments in a group interview ahead of a planned summit next week with U.S. President Joe Biden. The state visit there starting Wednesday will be the first by a Japanese leader in nine years. (Reporting by Yukiko Toyoda and Sakura Murakami; Writing by Tim Kelly; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)