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Japan and the US are essential 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 summit 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 promoting peace of mind on the importance of the US-Japan alliance, galgbtqhistoryproject.org as Trump's "America First" program threats trespassing on the nations' trade and defence ties.

"It would be terrific if we might affirm that we will work together for the advancement this region and the world and for peace," Ishiba informed reporters in Tokyo before leaving for the trip.

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

Ishiba is expected to tell Trump that Japan will increase defence buy from the United States, the Nikkei said.

Ishiba may 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 liquefied gas (LNG) imports from Russia, it "frantically needs to open brand-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 provide a win-win value proposition from Ishiba to the president," she said.

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

The Japan top might be less shocking, historydb.date Smith said, morphomics.science as Trump "has a fairly strong commitment to the alliances in Asia".

- Taiwan danger -

Ishiba has stressed the importance of US defence ties, indicating dangers 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 causing regional instability", Ishiba just recently informed parliament.

Trump and Ishiba are anticipated to verify the value 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 "extremely important" since Japan and the United States should collaborate to avoid a possible 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 burden of defence costs, however, there are issues Trump might 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 triggering jitters is Trump's willingness to slap trade tariffs on major trading partners China, Canada, and Mexico-- though he has delayed measures 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 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 could also discuss Nippon Steel's $14.9 billion quote to purchase US Steel, which Biden blocked on nationwide security premises.

Japan and the United States are each other's top foreign investors, and the Nikkei reported that the leaders will concur on developing an investment-friendly environment.

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

As president-elect in December, sciencewiki.science Trump also hosted Akie Abe, the widow of Japan's assassinated ex-premier, for a dinner with Melania Trump at their Florida house.

Trump built a strong relationship with Abe, for whom Smith believes he had a "genuine 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 very first Japanese VIP to fulfill the 78-year-old Trump personally given that he took office-- a distinction held by SoftBank creator Masayoshi Son.