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Japan and the US are crucial 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 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 personnel stationed in the nation.

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

"It would be fantastic if we could affirm that we will collaborate for the advancement this region and the world and for peace," Ishiba informed reporters in Tokyo before leaving for the journey.

Japan's Nikkei paper said Thursday the pair will issue a joint statement, which could vow to develop a "golden age" of bilateral relations and bring the alliance to "brand-new heights".

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

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

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

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

Trump will meet Ishiba in Washington on Friday-- simply days after a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, where the US president stimulated uproar with a proposition to take over the Gaza Strip.

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

- Taiwan risk -

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

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

Trump and Ishiba are anticipated to verify 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.

Concentrating on this point is "exceptionally crucial" since Japan and the United States need to collaborate to avoid a potential 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 problem of defence expenses, however, there are concerns Trump might provide 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 causing jitters is Trump's willingness to slap trade tariffs on significant trading partners China, Canada, and Mexico-- though he has postponed steps against the latter two nations pending talks.

"I hope Ishiba will reveal him there are other methods to attain financial security," such as complying on innovation, 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 leviathan SoftBank Group and US firm OpenAI.

Reports said the leaders might likewise discuss Nippon Steel's $14.9 billion quote to buy US Steel, oke.zone which Biden blocked on nationwide security premises.

Japan and the United States are each other's top foreign financiers, and the Nikkei reported that the leaders will agree on developing an investment-friendly environment.

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

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

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

He will likely "see Ishiba through a various lens", said Smith, ura.cc 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 personally because he took workplace-- a difference held by SoftBank creator Masayoshi Son.