President Joe Biden reviews an honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the Akasaka State Guest House in Tokyo, Japan. (Eugene Hoshiko - Pool/Getty Images)
Japanese officials at the embassy in Washington, D.C. told Fox News Digital that they had spoken to the Biden administration about the remarks and were informed the president's words were not meant to be derogatory.
"We are aware that the U.S. government has clarified that President Biden's comment was made in the context of explaining that the U.S. is a nation of immigrants and that immigrants make the U.S. stronger, and that his comment was not made with the intent of undermining the importance and permanence of the Japan-U.S. relationship," the embassy told Fox News Digital.
However, the officials also said Biden's "xenophobic" comments were "not based on an accurate understanding of Japan's policies," calling the situation "unfortunate."
Migrants rest and prepare for the night on the bank of the dry riverbed of the Rio Grande at the US-Mexico border in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua state, Mexico. (Justin Hamel/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
"Migration is a problem that European leaders are struggling with, too. There aren't any countries that have solved this problem as of now," said Mizuho Umemura, a member of the conservative Nippon Ishin no Kai Party who holds a seat in the House of Councilors.
She continued, "I hope that President Biden will solve the problem in New York before he says things like this. Depending on the presidential election, there could be a 180-degree change in policy, and there is no need for Japan to follow suit."
Fellow House of Councilors member and leader of the right-wing populist Sansei Party Sohei Kamiya was more direct, writing, "It's not that we're xenophobic, we are being cautious after seeing your failures. You are meddling too much in our internal affairs."
Timothy Nerozzi is a writer for Fox News Digital. You can follow him on Twitter @timothynerozzi and can email him at timothy.nerozzi@fox.com
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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/japanese-government-responds-biden-claim-japan-xenophobic-unfortunate