US, Japan plant White House cherry tree to mark friendship

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — First lady Jill Biden and Yuko Kishida, the wife of Japan’s prime minister, have marked years of friendship between their countries by planting a cherry tree at the White House. They planted the Yoshino sapling after a luncheon and a visit with President Joe Biden in the Oval Office on Monday. Both women stepped gingerly over the lawn in their spiky heels. Biden even joked that the way to plant a tree is to do it in heels. The White House says the sapling was grown from a cutting from a cherry tree that was planted at the White House in 2017.