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Japan and the US are crucial 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 2nd top 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 personnel stationed in the nation.

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

"It would be wonderful if we could affirm that we will work together for the development this region and the world and for peace," Ishiba told press reporters in Tokyo before leaving for the trip.

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

Ishiba is expected to inform 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 plan to "drill, infant, drill" while improving energy security for resource-poor Japan.

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

"The objective is to provide a win-win worth 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 stimulated uproar with a proposal to take over the Gaza Strip.

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

- Taiwan risk -

Ishiba has worried the value 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 must "continue to secure the US commitment to the area, to prevent a power vacuum resulting in local instability", securityholes.science Ishiba just 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 "extremely important" because Japan and the United States must interact to avoid 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 problem of defence costs, however, there are issues Trump might offer less cash and 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 willingness 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 show him there are other methods to attain financial security," such as working together 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 investment behemoth SoftBank Group and US firm OpenAI.

Reports said the leaders could also talk about Nippon Steel's $14.9 billion bid to buy US Steel, which Biden blocked on national security premises.

Japan and oke.zone the United States are each other's leading foreign financiers, and the Nikkei reported that the leaders will settle on developing 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 residence.

Trump developed a strong relationship with Abe, 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, 68, will not be the very first Japanese VIP to satisfy the 78-year-old Trump personally given that he took office-- a difference held by SoftBank creator Masayoshi Son.