Japan and orcz.com the US are key defence allies and each other's leading foreign investors
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Thursday left for the United States ahead of what will be President Donald Trump's second top with a foreign leader since his go back 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 pressing for reassurance on the value of the US-Japan alliance, as Trump's "America First" agenda dangers intruding on the nations' trade and defence ties.
"It would be terrific if we could verify that we will interact 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 release a joint declaration, which could vow to develop a "golden era" of bilateral relations 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 also propose importing more US natural gas-- chiming with Trump's plan to "drill, child, drill" while enhancing energy security for resource-poor Japan.
Since Japan has cut its melted gas (LNG) imports from Russia, it "frantically requires to open up brand-new sources of LNG, and other energy more broadly", Sheila Smith, online-learning-initiative.org senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, told AFP.
"The intention is to provide a win-win worth proposal from Ishiba to the president," she said.
Trump will satisfy Ishiba in Washington on Friday-- simply days after a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, where the US president triggered uproar with a proposal to take over the Gaza Strip.
The Japan summit could be less stunning, Smith said, as Trump "has a fairly strong dedication to the alliances in Asia".
- Taiwan hazard -
Ishiba has worried the importance of US defence ties, indicating 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 secure the US commitment to the region, to prevent a power vacuum causing local instability", Ishiba recently told parliament.
Trump and Ishiba are anticipated to affirm the importance 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.
Focusing on this point is "very important" due to the fact that Japan and oke.zone the United States must collaborate to avoid a prospective crisis, said Takashi Shiraishi, an international relations specialist at the Prefectural University of Kumamoto.
As Japan and the United States renegotiate how to share the concern of defence expenses, nevertheless, there are concerns Trump might supply 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 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 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 up to $500 billion in AI infrastructure in the United States, led by Japanese tech financial investment behemoth SoftBank Group and US firm OpenAI.
Reports said the leaders could likewise talk about Nippon Steel's $14.9 billion quote to buy US Steel, which Biden blocked on national security grounds.
Japan and the United States are each other's top foreign financiers, and the Nikkei reported that the leaders will agree on producing an investment-friendly environment.
During his very first term, oke.zone 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 ex-premier, for a supper with Melania Trump at their Florida house.
Trump built a strong relationship with Abe, 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 personal".
Ishiba, 68, will not be the first Japanese VIP to satisfy the 78-year-old Trump face to face given that he took office-- a difference held by SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son.
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Japan pM Heads to uS For Trump Summit
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