Japan and the US are essential 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 one of the closest allies of the United States in Asia with around 54,000 US military workers stationed in the nation.

Ishiba will be promoting reassurance on the value of the US-Japan alliance, as Trump's "America First" program threats encroaching on the nations' trade and defence ties.

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

Japan's Nikkei said Thursday the pair will issue 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 tell Trump that Japan will increase defence purchases from the United States, the Nikkei said.

Ishiba may also propose importing more US natural gas-- chiming with Trump's strategy to "drill, infant, drill" while boosting energy security for resource-poor Japan.

Since Japan has cut its melted natural gas (LNG) imports from Russia, it "frantically needs 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 intention is to present 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 interview with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, where the US president sparked uproar with a proposition to take control of the Gaza Strip.

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

- Taiwan risk -

Ishiba has stressed the value of US defence ties, pointing to dangers 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 prevent a power vacuum resulting in local instability", Ishiba just recently told parliament.

Trump and Ishiba are anticipated to verify 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 ministers.

Focusing on this point is "incredibly important" since Japan and the United States need to collaborate to prevent a prospective crisis, said Takashi Shiraishi, a global relations specialist at the Prefectural University of Kumamoto.

As Japan and the United States renegotiate how to share the problem of defence expenses, nevertheless, archmageriseswiki.com there are concerns Trump could provide less money 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 causing jitters is Trump's determination to slap trade tariffs on major trading partners China, Canada, and Mexico-- though he has postponed measures against the latter two countries pending talks.

"I hope Ishiba will reveal him there are other methods to attain economic security," such as complying on technology, Shiraishi told AFP.

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

Reports said the leaders could likewise go over Nippon Steel's $14.9 billion quote to purchase US Steel, which Biden obstructed on national security grounds.

Japan and prawattasao.awardspace.info the United States are each other's top foreign financiers, and the Nikkei reported that the leaders will agree on producing 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 likewise hosted Akie Abe, setiathome.berkeley.edu the widow of Japan's assassinated ex-premier, for 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 various lens", said Smith, visualchemy.gallery and "it will be more the state-to-state relationship, not the personal".

Ishiba, 68, will not be the first Japanese VIP to meet the 78-year-old Trump in individual since he took workplace-- a distinction held by SoftBank creator Masayoshi Son.