Japan, US eye Abe address to US congress during upcoming visit

The Japanese and U.S. governments are planning for Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to address the U.S. Congress during a visit to the United States this spring, a Japanese government official said Saturday.
That would be the first time a Japanese prime minister has addressed Congress since 1961, when then Prime Minister Hayato Ikeda spoke before the House of Representatives. Abe's grandfather, former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi, also addressed the U.S. Congress in 1957, according to Japan's (Kyodo) News Agency.
Final arrangements are underway for Abe to speak before a joint session of the Congress, something no Japanese prime minister has ever done, the official said on condition of anonymity.