1 Japan pM Heads to uS For Trump Summit

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Japan and the US are essential defence allies and each other's leading foreign financiers

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 considering that his return 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 pushing for reassurance on the value of the US-Japan alliance, as Trump's "America First" agenda risks trespassing on the trade and defence ties.

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

Japan's Nikkei paper said Thursday the pair will release a joint statement, setiathome.berkeley.edu which might vow to construct a "golden era" of bilateral relations and bring the alliance to "new heights".

Ishiba is anticipated to inform Trump that Japan will increase defence purchases from the United States, the Nikkei said.

Ishiba might also propose importing more US natural gas-- chiming with Trump's plan to "drill, child, drill" while improving energy security for resource-poor Japan.

Since Japan has cut its melted gas (LNG) imports from Russia, it "desperately needs to open up new sources of LNG, and other energy more broadly", Sheila Smith, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, informed AFP.

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

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

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

- Taiwan threat -

Ishiba has actually worried the value 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 needs to "continue to protect the US dedication to the region, to prevent a power vacuum resulting in local instability", Ishiba just recently told parliament.

Trump and Ishiba are expected to affirm 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.

Focusing on this point is "very essential" since Japan and the United States need to interact to avoid a possible 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, however, there are issues Trump could provide 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 determination to slap trade tariffs on significant trading partners China, Canada, and Mexico-- though he has actually postponed measures against the latter two countries pending talks.

"I hope Ishiba will show him there are other ways to attain financial security," such as complying 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 behemoth SoftBank Group and US firm OpenAI.

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

Japan and the United States are each other's top foreign financiers, and the Nikkei reported that the leaders will settle on developing 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 dinner with Melania Trump at their Florida home.

Trump developed a strong relationship with Abe, for whom Smith thinks he had a "real fondness".

He will likely "see Ishiba through a different 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 in individual because he took office-- a distinction held by SoftBank creator Masayoshi Son.