1 Japan pM Heads to uS For Trump Summit

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Japan and the US are crucial defence allies and yogaasanas.science 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 summit with a foreign leader since 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 pressing for peace of mind on the significance of the US-Japan alliance, as Trump's "America First" program risks encroaching on the nations' trade and defence ties.

"It would be fantastic if we could verify that we will collaborate for the development this region and the world and for peace," Ishiba told press reporters in Tokyo before leaving for the trip.

Japan's Nikkei newspaper said Thursday the pair will provide a joint declaration, which could vow to build a "golden age" of bilateral relations and bring the alliance to "brand-new heights".

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

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

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

Trump will satisfy Ishiba in Washington on Friday-- simply 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 summit could be less stunning, Smith said, ratemywifey.com as Trump "has a fairly strong dedication to the alliances in Asia".

- Taiwan danger -

Ishiba has worried the importance of US defence ties, indicating dangers 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 dedication to the area, to avoid a power vacuum leading to regional instability", Ishiba recently informed parliament.

Trump and Ishiba are expected to affirm 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 essential" due to the fact that Japan and the United States need to work together to avoid a prospective crisis, said Takashi Shiraishi, a global relations professional 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 could get a bit sticky," she said.

- After Abe -

Also causing jitters is Trump's desire to slap trade tariffs on major trading partners China, Canada, and Mexico-- though he has actually delayed procedures against the latter two countries pending talks.

"I hope Ishiba will show him there are other ways to attain financial security," such as cooperating on innovation, Shiraishi told AFP.

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

Reports said the leaders might also talk about Nippon Steel's $14.9 billion quote to purchase US Steel, which Biden obstructed on national security grounds.

Japan and the United States are each other's leading foreign financiers, library.kemu.ac.ke and valetinowiki.racing the Nikkei reported that the leaders will agree on developing an investment-friendly environment.

During his very first term, Trump and Japan's then-prime minister Shinzo Abe enjoyed warm relations.

As president-elect in December, Trump likewise hosted Akie Abe, biolink.palcurr.com 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 whom Smith thinks 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 satisfy the 78-year-old Trump face to face because he took workplace-- a difference held by SoftBank creator Masayoshi Son.