Biden, Japan's Kishida expected to meet in Washington as soon as Jan. 13 -source

(Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida are expected to meet in Washington as soon as Jan. 13, a person engaged in the preparations told Reuters on Tuesday.

The meeting between Washington and its key Asian partner comes as North Korea's missile tests and calls for a larger nuclear arsenal worry U.S. allies in the region.

Kishida plans to discuss Japan's new security policy, which was revised this month to unveil the country's biggest military build-up since World War Two, according to the Yomiuri daily in Japan.

The White House declined to comment on any plans for the meeting, which it has not announced.

Japan hosts the Group of 7 nations this year, including a leaders' summit in May in Hiroshima that Biden plans to attend. The club, which also includes the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Canada, has been a focus of Biden's efforts to revitalize U.S. alliances to counter threats from China to Russia and beyond.

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Mark Porter)

By Trevor Hunnicutt