Japan and the US are key defence allies and each other's leading 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 considering that 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 nation.

Ishiba will be pressing for reassurance on the importance of the US-Japan alliance, as Trump's "America First" agenda risks encroaching on the nations' trade and defence ties.

"It would be terrific if we might 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 might vow to build a "golden age" of bilateral relations and bring the alliance to "new heights".

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

Ishiba may likewise propose importing more US gas-- chiming with Trump's plan to "drill, baby, drill" while improving energy security for .

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

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

Trump will meet Ishiba in Washington on Friday-- simply days after a joint interview with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, where the US president stimulated uproar with a proposition to take over the Gaza Strip.

The Japan summit could be less stunning, Smith said, systemcheck-wiki.de as Trump "has a fairly strong commitment to the alliances in Asia".

- Taiwan threat -

Ishiba has actually stressed the importance of US defence ties, indicating hazards on Japan's doorstep such as China pressing its claims of sovereignty on the self-ruled island of Taiwan.

Tokyo must "continue to secure the US dedication to the region, to prevent a power vacuum causing regional instability", akropolistravel.com Ishiba just recently informed parliament.

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

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

Concentrating on this point is "very essential" due to the fact that Japan and the United States should interact to avoid a prospective crisis, koha-community.cz said Takashi Shiraishi, a global relations expert at the Prefectural University of Kumamoto.

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

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

- After Abe -

Also causing 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 nations pending talks.

"I hope Ishiba will reveal him there are other methods to attain economic security," such as complying on innovation, Shiraishi informed AFP.

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

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

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

During his very first term, Trump and valetinowiki.racing 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 supper with Melania Trump at their Florida residence.

Trump built a strong relationship with Abe, for whom Smith thinks he had a "authentic 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 individual considering that he took workplace-- a distinction held by SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son.