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

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Thursday left for morphomics.science the United States ahead of what will be President Donald Trump’s 2nd top with a foreign leader given 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 personnel stationed in the country.

Ishiba will be pressing for peace of mind on the significance of the US-Japan alliance, as Trump’s “America First” agenda dangers intruding on the nations’ trade and defence ties.

"It would be fantastic if we could affirm that we will interact for the advancement this region and the world and for peace,” Ishiba told press reporters in Tokyo before leaving for the journey.

Japan’s Nikkei newspaper said Thursday the pair will issue a joint declaration, which might vow to construct a “golden age” of bilateral relations and bring the alliance to “new heights”.

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

Ishiba may also more US natural gas-- chiming with Trump’s strategy to “drill, infant, drill” while increasing energy security for resource-poor Japan.

Since Japan has cut its melted gas (LNG) imports from Russia, it “desperately requires to open up 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 proposal from Ishiba to the president,” she said.

Trump will meet 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 proposition to take over the Gaza Strip.

The Japan summit might be less surprising, Smith said, as Trump “has a fairly strong commitment to the alliances in Asia”.

- Taiwan threat -

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

Tokyo should “continue to protect the US dedication to the area, to prevent a power vacuum leading to regional instability”, Ishiba recently informed parliament.

Trump and Ishiba are expected to verify 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.

Focusing on this point is “incredibly crucial” because Japan and the United States need to work together to avoid a potential 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 expenses, nevertheless, there are concerns Trump might provide less cash 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 causing jitters is Trump’s willingness to slap trade tariffs on major trading partners China, Canada, and Mexico-- though he has actually postponed measures against the latter 2 countries pending talks.

"I hope Ishiba will show him there are other ways to attain financial security,” such as working together on technology, Shiraishi informed AFP.

One example is the Stargate drive, revealed after Trump’s January inauguration, to invest up to $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 bid to buy US Steel, which Biden obstructed on nationwide security premises.

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

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

As president-elect in December, grandtribunal.org Trump also hosted Akie Abe, the widow of Japan’s assassinated ex-premier, for asteroidsathome.net a supper with Melania Trump at their Florida home.

Trump constructed a strong relationship with Abe, for whom Smith thinks 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 first Japanese VIP to fulfill the 78-year-old Trump personally because he took office-- a distinction held by SoftBank creator Masayoshi Son.