Japan and the US are key defence allies and each other's top foreign financiers

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Thursday left for the United States ahead of what will be President Donald Trump's second top with a foreign leader because his go back to the White House.

Japan is one of the closest allies of the United States in Asia with around 54,000 US military workers stationed in the country.

Ishiba will be promoting peace of mind on the significance of the US-Japan alliance, as Trump's "America First" agenda threats encroaching on the countries' trade and defence ties.

"It would be terrific if we could verify that we will interact for the development this area and the world and for peace," Ishiba informed reporters in Tokyo before leaving for the trip.

Japan's Nikkei newspaper said Thursday the pair will release a joint declaration, which could vow to build a "golden era" of bilateral relations and bring the alliance to "new heights".

Ishiba is expected to that Japan will increase defence buy from the United States, the Nikkei said.

Ishiba may also propose importing more US gas-- chiming with Trump's strategy to "drill, baby, drill" while improving energy security for resource-poor Japan.

Since Japan has cut its melted natural gas (LNG) imports from Russia, it "frantically requires to open up new sources of LNG, and other energy more broadly", Sheila Smith, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, informed AFP.

"The intention is to present a win-win worth proposal from Ishiba to the president," she said.

Trump will fulfill Ishiba in Washington on Friday-- simply days after a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, where the US president triggered uproar with a proposal to take control of the Gaza Strip.

The Japan top could be less shocking, Smith said, grandtribunal.org as Trump "has a fairly strong commitment to the alliances in Asia".

- Taiwan danger -

Ishiba has actually stressed the significance of US defence ties, pointing to threats on Japan's doorstep such as China pushing its claims of sovereignty on the self-ruled island of Taiwan.

Tokyo should "continue to protect the US commitment to the area, to avoid a power vacuum causing local instability", kenpoguy.com Ishiba just recently informed parliament.

Trump and Ishiba are anticipated to verify the value of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, Japanese media said.

That would echo joint declarations made by the last US president Joe Biden with previous Japanese prime ministers.

Concentrating on this point is "extremely important" due to the fact that Japan and the United States must interact to avoid a prospective crisis, said Takashi Shiraishi, fakenews.win a global relations expert at the Prefectural University of Kumamoto.

As Japan and the United States renegotiate how to share the concern of defence costs, however, there are concerns Trump might offer less money and push Japan to do more, Smith said.

"That's where ... the Ishiba-Trump relationship might get a bit sticky," she said.

- After Abe -

Also triggering jitters is Trump's desire to slap trade tariffs on significant trading partners China, Canada, and Mexico-- though he has delayed procedures against the latter 2 countries pending talks.

"I hope Ishiba will show him there are other methods to attain financial security," such as working together on innovation, Shiraishi told AFP.

One example is the Stargate drive, announced after Trump's January inauguration, to invest up to $500 billion in AI infrastructure in the United States, led by Japanese tech financial investment behemoth SoftBank Group and US firm OpenAI.

Reports said the leaders might also discuss Nippon Steel's $14.9 billion quote to purchase US Steel, which Biden obstructed on national security grounds.

Japan and the United States are each other's leading foreign investors, and the Nikkei reported that the leaders will settle on creating an investment-friendly environment.

During his first term, Trump and Japan's then-prime minister Shinzo Abe took pleasure in warm relations.

As president-elect in December, Trump likewise hosted Akie Abe, the widow of Japan's assassinated ex-premier, for a dinner with Melania Trump at their Florida home.

Trump built a strong relationship with Abe, for whom Smith thinks he had a "real fondness".

He will likely "see Ishiba through a different lens", said Smith, and "it will be more the state-to-state relationship, not the personal".

Ishiba, 68, will not be the very first Japanese VIP to satisfy the 78-year-old Trump in person given that he took workplace-- a distinction held by SoftBank creator Masayoshi Son.