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 summit with a foreign leader since 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 significance of the US-Japan alliance, akropolistravel.com as Trump's "America First" program dangers trespassing on the nations' trade and defence ties.
"It would be fantastic if we could affirm that we will collaborate for the development this region and the world and for peace," Ishiba informed press reporters in Tokyo before leaving for the trip.
Japan's Nikkei paper said Thursday the pair will issue a joint declaration, which could vow to construct a "golden age" of bilateral relations and bring the alliance to "brand-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, infant, drill" while improving energy security for resource-poor Japan.
Since Japan has cut its liquefied gas (LNG) imports from Russia, it "desperately requires to open new sources of LNG, and other energy more broadly", forum.pinoo.com.tr Sheila Smith, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, informed 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 interview with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, where the US president stimulated uproar with a proposition to take over the Gaza Strip.
The Japan summit could be less startling, prawattasao.awardspace.info Smith said, as Trump "has a fairly strong commitment to the alliances in Asia".
- Taiwan danger -
Ishiba has actually stressed the significance of US defence ties, indicating risks on Japan's doorstep such as China pushing 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 resulting in regional instability", Ishiba just recently informed parliament.
Trump and Ishiba are expected to affirm 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 must 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 costs, however, historydb.date there are issues Trump might provide less cash 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 determination to slap trade tariffs on significant trading partners China, Canada, and Mexico-- though he has delayed procedures against the latter 2 countries pending talks.
"I hope Ishiba will show him there are other ways to attain economic security," such as working together on technology, Shiraishi told AFP.
One example is the Stargate drive, revealed 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 wiki.dulovic.tech US firm OpenAI.
Reports said the leaders could likewise go over Nippon Steel's $14.9 billion quote to purchase US Steel, which Biden obstructed on nationwide security premises.
Japan and the United States are each other's top foreign investors, and the Nikkei reported that the leaders will settle on developing an investment-friendly environment.
During his very first term, wiki.vst.hs-furtwangen.de Trump and Japan's then-prime minister Shinzo Abe took pleasure in warm relations.
As president-elect in December, Trump likewise hosted Akie Abe, the widow of Japan's assassinated ex-premier, for a dinner with Melania Trump at their Florida home.
Trump built a strong relationship with Abe, wiki.eqoarevival.com for whom Smith believes he had a "real fondness".
He will likely "see Ishiba through a different lens", said Smith, and "it will be more the state-to-state relationship, not the individual".
Ishiba, 68, will not be the very first Japanese VIP to fulfill the 78-year-old Trump in person because he took workplace-- a distinction held by SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son.
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Japan pM Heads to United States For Trump Summit
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