His criticism of Japan comes just weeks after he called the US-Japan alliance "unbreakable" during a state visit from Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
India is also a key US partner, despite US concerns about human rights and religious freedoms there.
The White House says that Mr Biden meant no offence to either country.
Speaking to a predominantly Asian-American audience at a campaign fundraising event on Wednesday evening, Mr Biden said that the US election this November was about "freedom, America and democracy".
"Why? Because we welcome immigrants," he added. "Think about it. 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."
The BBC contacted the US embassies of Japan, India, China and Russia for comment, but did not receive an immediate reply.
The comments, however, have drawn criticism from US commentators.
On X, formerly Twitter, Elbridge Colby, a former US deputy assistant secretary of defence in the Trump administration, wrote that Japan and India "are two of our very stoutest and important allies".
"We should speak to them with respect, which they command and deserve," he added. "Applying parochial progressive views to our allies is patronising and foolish."
Although Japan, India and China have relatively few foreign-born workers, Russia is heavily reliant on migrant labour, much of it drawn from Central Asia.
While economic growth has been sluggish in Japan and China, Russia's militarised economy rebounded slightly last year as its war with Ukraine continues, despite international sanctions.
India, meanwhile, has experienced steady growth and surpassed the UK in 2023 to become the world's fifth-largest economy.
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