Jill Biden arrives at Tokyo Olympics to lead US delegation in first solo trip abroad

The first lady arrived in a city that has declared a new state of emergency due to an increase in coronavirus cases

First Lady Jill Biden arrived in Tokyo for the Olympic Games on Thursday to serve as the head of the US delegation. Biden, 70, touched down at Yokota Air Base around 3.30pm local time and wore a red-orange dress and a white floral mask as she stepped down from a plane and waved at officials welcoming her.

Biden met with greeters lined up on the tarmac and then boarded a military helicopter that took her to the US Embassy in Tokyo.

The three-day Olympics visit is Biden’s first solo international trip as first lady. She will play a starring role in Friday’s opening ceremony, which starts at 8pm local time at the National Stadium in Tokyo.

Biden arrived in a city that has declared a new state of emergency due to an increase in coronavirus cases.

She had dinner on Thursday evening with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and his wife, Mariko Suga, at Akasaka Palace.

The first lady was scheduled to meet Team USA members virtually. She will host a watch party for the US-Mexico softball team on Saturday with foreign service officers invited to attend at the US Embassy. Biden is also set to meet Emperor Naruhito at the Imperial Palace.

Earlier this week in a press conference, Tokyo 2020 CEO Toshiro Muto said that the Games could possibly still be canceled due to the Covid-19 surge.

‘We cannot predict what the epidemic will look like in the future,’ Muto said. ‘So as for what to do should there be any surge of positive cases, we’ll discuss accordingly if that happens.’

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki in a briefing on Tuesday confirmed that Biden was still planning to attend the Games.

‘She looks forward to supporting, of course, the athletes who are competing on behalf of the United States,’ Psaki said. ‘Our team will be following very strict safety and health protocols, limiting engagement with the public, keeping our footprint as small as possible.’

Before arriving in Tokyo, Biden stopped in Alaska on Wednesday to meet with military and veteran families and encourage Americans to get vaccinated against Covid-19. After her Olympics duties, she will stop at a vaccination clinic at a high school in Honolulu before returning to Washington, DC.

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