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Japan and 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 summit with a foreign leader because his return 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 nation.

Ishiba will be pushing for reassurance on the significance of the US-Japan alliance, as Trump's "America First" program threats intruding on the nations' trade and defence ties.

"It would be wonderful if we might affirm that we will interact for the advancement this area 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 provide a joint declaration, which could vow to develop a "golden age" of bilateral relations and bring the alliance to "brand-new heights".

Ishiba is expected to tell Trump that Japan will increase defence purchases from the United States, the Nikkei said.

Ishiba may likewise propose importing more US natural gas-- chiming with Trump's strategy to "drill, baby, drill" while increasing energy security for .

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

"The intent is to provide a win-win value proposal 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 triggered uproar with a proposition to take over the Gaza Strip.

The Japan top could be less surprising, Smith said, as Trump "has a fairly strong commitment to the alliances in Asia".

- Taiwan threat -

Ishiba has actually stressed the importance of US defence ties, indicating risks 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 commitment to the region, to prevent a power vacuum resulting in local instability", Ishiba recently informed parliament.

Trump and Ishiba are anticipated to affirm the value 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 "extremely crucial" due to the fact that Japan and the United States need to interact to avoid a potential crisis, said Takashi Shiraishi, wiki.rolandradio.net a worldwide relations specialist at the Prefectural University of Kumamoto.

As Japan and the United States renegotiate how to share the burden of defence costs, however, there are issues Trump might offer 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 willingness to slap trade tariffs on significant trading partners China, Canada, and Mexico-- though he has actually 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 working together on innovation, Shiraishi informed 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 likewise discuss Nippon Steel's $14.9 billion quote to purchase US Steel, which Biden obstructed on nationwide security grounds.

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

During his first term, Trump and Japan's then-prime minister Shinzo Abe delighted 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, for whom Smith thinks he had a "real 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 because he took workplace-- a distinction held by SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son.