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

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Thursday left for wiki.myamens.com the United States ahead of what will be President Donald Trump's 2nd summit with a foreign leader since 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 peace of mind on the significance of the US-Japan alliance, as Trump's "America First" program threats intruding on the countries' trade and defence ties.

"It would be fantastic if we could affirm 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 journey.

Japan's Nikkei paper said Thursday the pair will provide a joint declaration, which could vow to develop a "golden era" of bilateral relations and bring the alliance to "brand-new heights".

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

Ishiba might likewise 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 actually cut its melted natural gas (LNG) imports from Russia, it "frantically needs to open up brand-new sources of LNG, and other energy more broadly", Sheila Smith, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, told AFP.

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

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

The Japan top could be less surprising, Smith said, as Trump "has a fairly strong dedication to the alliances in Asia".

- Taiwan danger -

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

Tokyo needs to "continue to protect the US dedication to the region, to prevent a power vacuum resulting in regional instability", Ishiba just recently informed parliament.

Trump and Ishiba are expected to verify the significance 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 "extremely crucial" because Japan and systemcheck-wiki.de the United States need to work together to prevent a prospective crisis, said Takashi Shiraishi, an international relations specialist 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 supply less money and push Japan to do more, yogicentral.science Smith said.

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

- After Abe -

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

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

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

Reports said the leaders could likewise go over Nippon Steel's $14.9 billion quote to purchase US Steel, which Biden obstructed on national .

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

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

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

Trump constructed a strong relationship with Abe, setiathome.berkeley.edu for whom Smith believes he had a "genuine 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, asystechnik.com 68, will not be the very first Japanese VIP to meet the 78-year-old Trump face to face because he took office-- a distinction held by SoftBank creator Masayoshi Son.