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

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Thursday left for setiathome.berkeley.edu the United States ahead of what will be President Donald Trump's second top with a foreign leader considering that his return to the White House.

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

Ishiba will be pushing 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 wonderful if we might verify that we will work together for the advancement this region and the world and for peace," Ishiba informed press reporters in Tokyo before leaving for the trip.

Japan's Nikkei paper said Thursday the pair will provide a joint statement, 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 might also propose importing more US gas-- chiming with Trump's strategy to "drill, child, drill" while enhancing energy security for resource-poor Japan.

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

"The objective is to present a win-win worth proposition 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 triggered uproar with a proposal to take over the Gaza Strip.

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

- Taiwan hazard -

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

Tokyo needs to "continue to protect the US dedication to the area, to avoid a power vacuum causing local instability", Ishiba recently told .

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 "extremely essential" due to the fact that Japan and the United States need to work together to avoid a possible crisis, said Takashi Shiraishi, a worldwide relations expert at the Prefectural University of Kumamoto.

As Japan and the United States renegotiate how to share the burden of defence costs, nevertheless, elearnportal.science there are concerns Trump could provide 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 triggering 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 countries pending talks.

"I hope Ishiba will reveal him there are other ways to attain financial security," such as cooperating on innovation, Shiraishi informed AFP.

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

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

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

During his first term, Trump and Japan's then-prime minister Shinzo Abe delighted in 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 personal".

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