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

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Thursday left for the United States ahead of what will be President Donald Trump's second 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 workers stationed in the country.

Ishiba will be promoting reassurance on the importance of the US-Japan alliance, as Trump's "America First" program dangers trespassing on the countries' trade and defence ties.

"It would be wonderful if we could verify that we will collaborate for the advancement this area and the world and for peace," Ishiba told press reporters in Tokyo before leaving for the trip.

Japan's Nikkei paper said Thursday the pair will release a joint statement, which might vow to construct a "golden age" 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 likewise propose importing more US natural gas-- chiming with Trump's plan to "drill, baby, drill" while increasing energy security for resource-poor Japan.

Since Japan has cut its liquefied 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, informed AFP.

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

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

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

- Taiwan danger -

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

Tokyo needs to "continue to secure the US commitment to the area, to avoid a power vacuum causing local instability", Ishiba just recently told parliament.

Trump and Ishiba are anticipated to verify the importance 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 "exceptionally important" because Japan and the United States need to interact to prevent a potential crisis, said Takashi Shiraishi, an international relations expert at the Prefectural University of Kumamoto.

As Japan and the United States renegotiate how to share the problem of defence expenses, however, there are concerns Trump could supply 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 significant trading partners China, Canada, and Mexico-- though he has delayed procedures against the latter 2 nations pending talks.

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

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

Reports said the leaders might likewise discuss Nippon Steel's $14.9 billion bid to purchase US Steel, which Biden blocked on nationwide security premises.

Japan and the United States are each other's top foreign financiers, 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 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 developed a strong relationship with Abe, for whom Smith thinks he had a "genuine fondness".

He will likely "see Ishiba through a various lens", said Smith, chessdatabase.science and "it will be more the state-to-state relationship, not the individual".

Ishiba, 68, will not be the very first Japanese VIP to meet the 78-year-old Trump personally because he took workplace-- a difference held by SoftBank creator Masayoshi Son.