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 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 one of the closest allies of the United States in Asia with around 54,000 US military workers stationed in the nation.

Ishiba will be promoting reassurance on the value of the US-Japan alliance, as Trump's "America First" agenda dangers intruding on the nations' trade and defence ties.

"It would be wonderful if we might affirm that we will collaborate for the development this area and the world and for peace," Ishiba told press reporters in Tokyo before leaving for the journey.

Japan's Nikkei paper said Thursday the pair will issue a joint statement, which might vow to construct a "golden era" 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 natural gas-- chiming with Trump's strategy to "drill, child, drill" while improving energy security for resource-poor Japan.

Since Japan has cut its liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports from Russia, it "frantically needs to open 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 proposal from Ishiba to the president," she said.

Trump will fulfill Ishiba in Washington on Friday-- just days after a joint interview with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, where the US president sparked uproar with a proposal to take over the Gaza Strip.

The Japan top might be less stunning, Smith said, as Trump "has a fairly strong commitment to the alliances in Asia".

hazard -

Ishiba has worried the importance of US defence ties, passfun.awardspace.us pointing to dangers on Japan's doorstep such as China pressing its claims of sovereignty on the self-ruled island of Taiwan.

Tokyo should "continue to secure the US commitment to the region, to prevent a power vacuum leading to regional instability", Ishiba just recently told parliament.

Trump and Ishiba are expected 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 "very crucial" since Japan and the United States must collaborate to prevent a prospective crisis, said Takashi Shiraishi, a global relations specialist 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 could offer less money 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 desire to slap trade tariffs on major trading partners China, Canada, and Mexico-- though he has actually postponed steps against the latter two countries pending talks.

"I hope Ishiba will show him there are other ways to attain economic security," such as cooperating on technology, Shiraishi told 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 financial investment behemoth SoftBank Group and US firm OpenAI.

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

Japan and the United States are each other's leading foreign investors, and the Nikkei reported that the leaders will settle on creating 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 residence.

Trump constructed a strong relationship with Abe, bbarlock.com for whom Smith thinks 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 very first Japanese VIP to meet the 78-year-old Trump personally since he took office-- a difference held by SoftBank creator Masayoshi Son.