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Japan and the US are essential 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 one of 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 encroaching on the countries' trade and defence ties.

"It would be wonderful if we might verify that we will collaborate for the advancement this area 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 release a joint declaration, which might vow to develop 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 buy from the United States, the Nikkei said.

Ishiba may likewise 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 liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports from Russia, it "frantically requires to open up 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 present a win-win worth proposition from Ishiba to the president," she said.

Trump will satisfy 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 dedication to the alliances in Asia".

- Taiwan hazard -

Ishiba has stressed the value 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 needs to "continue to protect the US commitment to the area, to prevent a power vacuum causing regional instability", Ishiba just 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 declarations made by the last US president Joe Biden with previous Japanese prime ministers.

Focusing on this point is "exceptionally important" since Japan and the United States need to interact to prevent a prospective crisis, said Takashi Shiraishi, an international relations expert 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 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 significant trading partners China, Canada, and Mexico-- though he has delayed procedures against the latter two nations pending talks.

"I hope Ishiba will show him there are other methods to attain financial security," such as cooperating on technology, Shiraishi informed AFP.

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

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

Japan and wiki-tb-service.com the United States are each other's leading foreign investors, and the Nikkei reported that the leaders will settle 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 likewise hosted Akie Abe, the widow of Japan's assassinated ex-premier, for a supper with Melania Trump at their Florida house.

Trump constructed 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 individual".

Ishiba, 68, will not be the first Japanese VIP to fulfill the 78-year-old Trump in person because he took office-- a difference held by SoftBank creator Masayoshi Son.