Guests at the state dinner for Japan’s prime minister will share the feel of walking over a koi pond

WASHINGTON (AP) — Forget about a red carpet.

Jill Biden is honoring the friendship between the United States and Japan by transforming the State Floor of the White House into a “vibrant spring garden” for the state dinner she and President Joe Biden will host Wednesday for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

The first lady sounded especially excited about a replacement for the red carpet in the famous Cross Hall. The “stunning” floor covering will give more than 200 guests the feel of walking over a koi pond, a nod to fish that symbolize “friendship, peace, luck and perseverance,” she said at a media preview a day earlier.

A state dinner is a tool of U.S. diplomacy, an honor doled out sparingly and only to America’s closest allies. In the case of Japan, the president has granted that honor for just the fifth time to an ally that he sees as a cornerstone of his policy toward the Indo-Pacific region.

Kishida is on an official visit to the United States this week. The state dinner is Biden’s first this year.

Dry-aged rib eye steak, cherry blossoms and the music of Paul Simon are also part of the evening.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«READ MORE» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-show-loadmore=«true» data-gtm-modulestyle=«List B»> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> READ MORE </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Biden says he backs Japan’s outreach to North Korea and says he’s still open to talks with Kim </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Biden praises Prime Minister Kishida’s leadership and Japan’s growing international clout </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Steak, cherry blossoms