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Japan and the US are essential 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 second summit with a foreign leader because his go back 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 promoting reassurance on the significance of the US-Japan alliance, as Trump's "America First" agenda risks encroaching on the nations' trade and defence ties.

"It would be wonderful if we might affirm that we will interact for the development this region and the world and for peace," Ishiba informed reporters in Tokyo before leaving for the journey.

Japan's Nikkei newspaper said Thursday the pair will release a joint declaration, which could vow to construct a "golden era" of bilateral relations and bring the alliance to "new heights".

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

Ishiba might also propose importing more US gas-- chiming with Trump's plan to "drill, child, drill" while increasing energy security for resource-poor Japan.

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

"The objective is to present a win-win value proposal 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 sparked outcry with a proposition to take over the Gaza Strip.

The Japan summit could be less surprising, bybio.co Smith said, as Trump "has a fairly strong dedication to the alliances in Asia".

- Taiwan risk -

Ishiba has worried the value of US ties, indicating dangers on Japan's doorstep such as China pressing its claims of sovereignty on the self-ruled island of Taiwan.

Tokyo must "continue to protect the US commitment to the area, to avoid a power vacuum resulting in regional instability", Ishiba just recently told parliament.

Trump and Ishiba are expected to verify 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 "incredibly crucial" because Japan and the United States need to interact to avoid a prospective crisis, said Takashi Shiraishi, a worldwide relations specialist at the Prefectural University of Kumamoto.

As Japan and 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 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 reveal him there are other methods to attain financial security," such as working together 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 facilities in the United States, led by Japanese tech investment behemoth SoftBank Group and US firm OpenAI.

Reports said the leaders might 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 concur on creating 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 a supper 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 various 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 since he took workplace-- a distinction held by SoftBank creator Masayoshi Son.