1 Japan pM Heads to United States For Trump Summit

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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 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 workers stationed in the nation.

Ishiba will be promoting peace of mind on the importance of the US-Japan alliance, as Trump's "America First" program risks intruding on the nations' trade and defence ties.

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

Japan's Nikkei paper said Thursday the pair will provide a joint statement, which could vow to develop 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 purchases from the United States, the Nikkei said.

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

Since Japan has cut its liquefied 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 intent is to provide a win-win value proposition from Ishiba to the president," she said.

Trump will fulfill 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 control of the Gaza Strip.

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

- Taiwan threat -

Ishiba has worried the importance 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 should "continue to protect the US dedication to the area, to prevent a power vacuum causing regional instability", Ishiba recently told parliament.

Trump and Ishiba are expected to affirm 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 "exceptionally essential" due to the fact that Japan and the United States need to work together to avoid a potential 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 concern of defence costs, nevertheless, there are concerns Trump might supply 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 triggering jitters is Trump's desire 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 ways to attain financial security," such as complying 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 investment behemoth SoftBank Group and US firm OpenAI.

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

Japan and the United States are each other's leading foreign financiers, and the Nikkei reported that the leaders will agree on creating an .

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, 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 "real fondness".

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

Ishiba, 68, will not be the first Japanese VIP to satisfy the 78-year-old Trump face to face because he took workplace-- a distinction held by SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son.