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Japan and the US are key defence allies and each other's top 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 considering 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 country.

Ishiba will be pushing for peace of mind on the importance of the US-Japan alliance, as Trump's "America First" agenda dangers encroaching on the countries' trade and defence ties.

"It would be terrific if we might affirm that we will work together for the development this region 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 provide a joint declaration, which could vow to build a "golden age" of bilateral relations and bring the alliance to "new heights".

Ishiba is expected to tell 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, child, drill" while enhancing energy security for resource-poor Japan.

Since Japan has cut its liquefied 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, informed AFP.

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

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

The Japan summit could be less shocking, Smith said, wiki.snooze-hotelsoftware.de as Trump "has a fairly strong dedication to the alliances in Asia".

- Taiwan threat -

Ishiba has worried 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 secure the US dedication to the region, to prevent a power vacuum causing local instability", Ishiba recently told parliament.

Trump and Ishiba are anticipated to affirm the significance 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" because Japan and the United States must interact to prevent a possible crisis, said Takashi Shiraishi, a expert at the Prefectural University of Kumamoto.

As Japan and oke.zone the United States renegotiate how to share the problem of defence costs, nevertheless, there are issues Trump could supply 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 desire to slap trade tariffs on major trading partners China, Canada, and Mexico-- though he has actually delayed measures against the latter 2 countries pending talks.

"I hope Ishiba will reveal him there are other ways to attain financial security," such as cooperating on technology, 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 might likewise discuss Nippon Steel's $14.9 billion bid to purchase US Steel, which Biden blocked on national security grounds.

Japan and bybio.co the United States are each other's top foreign investors, oke.zone and 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 also hosted Akie Abe, the widow of Japan's assassinated ex-premier, for oke.zone a dinner with Melania Trump at their Florida residence.

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

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

Ishiba, 68, will not be the very first Japanese VIP to meet the 78-year-old Trump face to face given that he took workplace-- a distinction held by SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son.