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Japan and the US are crucial defence allies and each other's top foreign financiers

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 return 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 pressing for reassurance on the value of the US-Japan alliance, asteroidsathome.net as Trump's "America First" program risks encroaching on the countries' trade and defence ties.

"It would be wonderful if we could verify that we will interact for the development this area and the world and for peace," Ishiba told reporters in Tokyo before leaving for the journey.

Japan's Nikkei paper said Thursday the pair will 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 inform 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, infant, drill" while improving energy security for resource-poor Japan.

Since Japan has cut its liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports from Russia, it "desperately 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 present a win-win worth proposition 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 triggered outcry with a proposal to take over the Gaza Strip.

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

- Taiwan danger -

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

Tokyo must "continue to protect the US commitment to the area, to avoid a power vacuum leading to regional instability", wiki.lafabriquedelalogistique.fr Ishiba recently informed 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 declarations made by the last US president Joe Biden with previous Japanese prime ministers.

Concentrating on this point is "extremely important" due to the fact that Japan and the United States should work together to prevent a possible crisis, said Takashi Shiraishi, wiki.dulovic.tech a worldwide relations expert at the Prefectural University of Kumamoto.

As Japan and the United States renegotiate how to share the problem of defence expenses, nevertheless, there are issues 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 willingness to slap trade tariffs on significant trading partners China, Canada, and Mexico-- though he has actually 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 cooperating on innovation, Shiraishi informed AFP.

One example is the Stargate drive, announced after Trump's January inauguration, to invest up to $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 also go over Nippon Steel's $14.9 billion quote to purchase US Steel, which Biden blocked on national 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, 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 dinner with Melania Trump at their Florida house.

Trump developed a strong relationship with Abe, for wiki.dulovic.tech whom Smith believes 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, wiki.vst.hs-furtwangen.de 68, will not be the very first Japanese VIP to meet the 78-year-old Trump in individual given that he took workplace-- a distinction held by SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son.