Japan and wiki.eqoarevival.com the US are key defence allies and each other's leading foreign investors

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Thursday left for the United States ahead of what will be President Donald Trump's second summit 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 personnel stationed in the nation.

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

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

Japan's Nikkei newspaper said Thursday the pair will provide a joint declaration, which might vow to develop a "golden age" of bilateral relations and setiathome.berkeley.edu bring the alliance to "new heights".

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

Ishiba might likewise propose importing more US with Trump's plan to "drill, infant, drill" while enhancing energy security for resource-poor Japan.

Since Japan has actually cut its liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports from Russia, it "frantically needs to open 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 provide a win-win value proposition from Ishiba to the president," she said.

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

The Japan summit might be less stunning, Smith said, as Trump "has a fairly strong dedication to the alliances in Asia".

- Taiwan risk -

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

Tokyo needs to "continue to secure the US commitment to the region, to prevent a power vacuum causing local instability", Ishiba recently told parliament.

Trump and Ishiba are anticipated to affirm the value 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" since Japan and the United States need to collaborate to avoid a prospective crisis, said Takashi Shiraishi, a global relations specialist at the Prefectural University of Kumamoto.

As Japan and the United States renegotiate how to share the burden of defence expenses, nevertheless, 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, utahsyardsale.com Canada, and Mexico-- though he has actually delayed steps against the latter two nations pending talks.

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

One example is the Stargate drive, wiki.vst.hs-furtwangen.de announced after Trump's January inauguration, to invest up to $500 billion in AI facilities in the United States, led by Japanese tech financial investment leviathan SoftBank Group and US firm OpenAI.

Reports said the leaders might likewise talk about Nippon Steel's $14.9 billion quote to buy US Steel, which Biden obstructed on national security premises.

Japan and the United States are each other's top foreign financiers, bybio.co 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 enjoyed warm relations.

As president-elect in December, Trump also 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 believes he had a "genuine fondness".

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

Ishiba, 68, will not be the very first Japanese VIP to meet the 78-year-old Trump face to face considering that he took office-- a distinction held by SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son.