Japan and the US are crucial 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 2nd top with a foreign leader given that his go back to the White House.

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

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

"It would be wonderful if we might affirm that we will work together 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 provide a joint statement, which could vow to develop a “golden era” of bilateral relations and bring the alliance to “brand-new heights”.

Ishiba is expected to tell Trump that Japan will increase defence buy 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 increasing energy security for resource-poor Japan.

Since Japan has actually cut its melted natural 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, told AFP.

"The intent is to present a win-win value proposal 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 stimulated outcry 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 threat -

Ishiba has actually stressed the importance of US defence ties, indicating risks on Japan’s doorstep such as China pushing its claims of sovereignty on the self-ruled island of Taiwan.

Tokyo must “continue to protect the US dedication to the area, to avoid a power vacuum causing regional instability”, Ishiba recently told parliament.

Trump and ura.cc Ishiba are anticipated to affirm the significance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, Japanese media said.

That would echo joint declarations made by the last US president Joe Biden with previous Japanese prime .

Concentrating on this point is “incredibly essential” because Japan and asteroidsathome.net the United States need to collaborate to avoid a prospective 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 problem of defence costs, oke.zone nevertheless, there are concerns Trump might supply 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 desire to slap trade tariffs on major trading partners China, Canada, and Mexico-- though he has delayed procedures against the latter two countries pending talks.

"I hope Ishiba will reveal him there are other ways 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, archmageriseswiki.com to invest approximately $500 billion in AI facilities in the United States, led by Japanese tech investment leviathan SoftBank Group and US firm OpenAI.

Reports said the leaders could also talk about Nippon Steel’s $14.9 billion quote to purchase US Steel, which Biden obstructed on national security grounds.

Japan and the United States are each other’s top foreign investors, and the Nikkei reported that the leaders will settle on producing 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 likewise hosted Akie Abe, the widow of Japan’s assassinated ex-premier, for a supper with Melania Trump at their Florida residence.

Trump developed a strong relationship with Abe, for whom Smith thinks he had a “real 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 first Japanese VIP to meet the 78-year-old Trump personally since he took office-- a distinction held by SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son.