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Japan and the US are allies and 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 top with a foreign leader considering 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 country.

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

"It would be terrific if we could affirm that we will interact for the advancement this region 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 issue a joint statement, which might vow to build a "golden era" of bilateral relations and bring the alliance to "brand-new heights".

Ishiba is expected to inform Trump that Japan will increase defence purchases from the United States, it-viking.ch the Nikkei said.

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

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

"The intention is to provide a win-win worth 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 uproar with a proposition to take over the Gaza Strip.

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

- Taiwan threat -

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

Tokyo needs to "continue to protect the US commitment to the area, to avoid a power vacuum causing local instability", Ishiba recently told parliament.

Trump and Ishiba are expected 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.

Focusing on this point is "incredibly essential" because Japan and the United States need to interact to prevent a possible crisis, said Takashi Shiraishi, a worldwide relations specialist at the Prefectural University of Kumamoto.

As Japan and the United States renegotiate how to share the concern of defence expenses, however, there are issues Trump could provide 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 triggering jitters is Trump's willingness to slap trade tariffs on major trading partners China, Canada, and Mexico-- though he has postponed measures against the latter 2 nations pending talks.

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

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

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

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

During his first term, Trump and Japan's then-prime minister Shinzo Abe enjoyed 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 developed 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 given that he took workplace-- a difference held by SoftBank creator Masayoshi Son.