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Japan and the US are crucial defence allies and each other's leading foreign financiers

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Thursday left for the United States ahead of what will be President Donald Trump's 2nd top with a foreign leader considering that 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 nation.

Ishiba will be promoting reassurance on the value of the US-Japan alliance, as Trump's "America First" agenda threats intruding on the countries' trade and defence ties.

"It would be fantastic if we could affirm that we will work together for the development this area and the world and for peace," Ishiba told press reporters in Tokyo before leaving for the trip.

Japan's Nikkei paper said Thursday the pair will release a joint statement, classifieds.ocala-news.com which might 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 also propose importing more US natural gas-- chiming with Trump's strategy to "drill, child, drill" while enhancing energy security for resource-poor Japan.

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

"The objective is to present a win-win worth proposal from Ishiba to the president," she said.

Trump will fulfill Ishiba in Washington on Friday-- just days after a joint interview with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, where the US president stimulated outcry with a proposition to take control of the Gaza Strip.

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

- Taiwan hazard -

Ishiba has worried the significance 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 dedication to the area, to avoid a power vacuum causing regional instability", Ishiba just recently informed parliament.

Trump and Ishiba are anticipated to verify 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.

Concentrating on this point is "extremely important" because Japan and the United States should collaborate to avoid 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 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 could get a bit sticky," she said.

- After Abe -

Also causing jitters is Trump's willingness to slap trade tariffs on major trading partners China, Canada, and Mexico-- though he has delayed procedures against the latter two nations pending talks.

"I hope Ishiba will reveal him there are other ways to attain financial security," such as complying 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 might likewise discuss Nippon Steel's $14.9 billion bid to buy US Steel, ura.cc which Biden blocked on national security premises.

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

During his very first term, Trump and Japan's then-prime minister Shinzo Abe took pleasure in warm relations.

As president-elect in December, Trump also hosted Akie Abe, the widow of Japan's assassinated ex-premier, for a dinner with Melania Trump at their Florida house.

Trump built a strong relationship with Abe, for whom Smith believes he had a "authentic 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 very first Japanese VIP to meet the 78-year-old Trump personally because he took workplace-- a difference held by SoftBank creator Masayoshi Son.