Japan said Biden’s judgment was “unfortunate” and “not based on an accurate understanding” of its policies, while India rebutted the comment, defending itself as the world’s most open society.

India and Japan rejected on Saturday US President Joe Biden’s remarks describing them as “xenophobic” countries that do not welcome immigrants, and grouping the two US allies with China and Russia

India’s Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said the country has historically been open to immigrants and is on strong economic footing, The Economic Times newspaper reported on Saturday.

“First of all, our economy is not faltering,” Jaishankar said at a roundtable hosted by The Economic Times on Friday, after Biden said the four nations were failing to capitalise on the economic benefits of migration.

“I think we should be open to people who have the need to come to India, who have a claim to come to India,” Jaishankar added, pointing to a contentious citizenship law that fast-tracks naturalisation for some non-Muslim immigrants.

Japan, which has the lowest immigrant population of any Group of Seven (G7) nation at less than 2%, also took issue with Biden’s comments. Its embassy in Washington, DC, said the remarks were “unfortunate” and “not based on an accurate understanding of Japan’s policies”.

At a campaign fundraiser on Wednesday, where the donor audience was largely Asian American, Biden criticised the countries for taking in fewer migrants, while arguing migration has bolstered the US economy. He grouped Japan and India as “xenophobic” countries, along with Russia and China as he tried to explain their struggling economies.

“Why is China stalling so badly economically? Why is Japan having trouble? Why is Russia? Why is India? Because they’re xenophobic. They don’t want immigrants,” Biden said.

“One of the reasons why our economy’s growing is because of you and many others. Why? Because we welcome immigrants.”

Biden’s singling out of Japan and India came as a surprise as he has made a point of strengthening ties with the two countries since taking office in 2021.

Last year, the US president welcomed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the White House, where he hailed the two countries’ shared “democratic character” and “diversity”.

In April, he hosted Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for a state dinner, celebrating the United States and Japan’s “unbreakable” partnership, and commitment to “democracy and freedom”.

The White House said Biden meant no offence in his comments and was merely stressing that the US was a nation of immigrants, saying he had no intention of undermining the relationship with Japan.

Japan’s embassy said Friday that it was “aware” that the administration had clarified that Biden’s remarks were intended to highlight immigrants’ role in strengthening the US, “and that his comment was not made with the intent of undermining the importance and permanence of the Japan-US relationship”.

The controversy would not affect Japan’s future work with the US, it added.

Japan, despite its historically strict immigration policy, has been slowly opening its doors to outsiders to compensate for its rapidly aging population.

India, the world’s most populous nation, has been criticised for its move to implement the 2019 Citizenship Amendment Act that allows fast-tracking naturalisation for non-Muslims from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.

While the law eases the migration process for some asylum seekers, critics say it discriminates against Muslims and is unconstitutional.