1 Japan pM Heads to United States For Trump Summit

jwpvince630184 edited this page 2025-02-10 10:51:51 +01:00

Japan and the US are crucial defence allies and links.gtanet.com.br 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 2nd summit 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 pushing for reassurance on the significance of the US-Japan alliance, as Trump's "America First" agenda risks trespassing on the nations' trade and defence ties.

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

Japan's Nikkei newspaper said Thursday the pair will release a joint statement, which might vow to develop a "golden age" of 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 may likewise propose importing more US gas-- chiming with Trump's plan to "drill, child, drill" while increasing energy security for resource-poor Japan.

Since Japan has actually cut its melted gas (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 proposal from Ishiba to the president," she said.

Trump will fulfill Ishiba in Washington on Friday-- just days after a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, where the US president sparked outcry with a proposition to take control of the Gaza Strip.

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

- Taiwan risk -

Ishiba has stressed the significance 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 needs to "continue to protect the US dedication to the area, to avoid a power vacuum resulting in local instability", Ishiba recently informed parliament.

Trump and Ishiba are anticipated to affirm the value of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, Japanese media said.

That would echo joint statements made by the last US president Joe Biden with previous Japanese prime ministers.

Concentrating on this point is "incredibly essential" because Japan and the United States should work together to prevent a possible crisis, said Takashi Shiraishi, a global relations expert at the Prefectural University of Kumamoto.

As Japan and bytes-the-dust.com the United States renegotiate how to share the problem of defence expenses, however, there are concerns Trump might offer less money and push Japan to do more, asteroidsathome.net 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 delayed measures against the latter 2 nations pending talks.

"I hope Ishiba will reveal him there are other methods to attain financial security," such as working together on innovation, Shiraishi told AFP.

One example is the Stargate drive, revealed 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 forum.pinoo.com.tr US firm OpenAI.

Reports said the leaders could likewise go over Nippon Steel's $14.9 billion bid to buy US Steel, it-viking.ch which Biden blocked on national security grounds.

Japan and the United States are each other's top foreign investors, passfun.awardspace.us and the Nikkei reported that the leaders will concur on developing an investment-friendly environment.

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

As president-elect in December, Trump likewise hosted Akie Abe, the widow of Japan's assassinated ex-premier, for a supper with Melania Trump at their Florida residence.

Trump constructed a strong relationship with Abe, for whom Smith believes he had a "authentic fondness".

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

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