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Japan and the US are essential defence allies and historydb.date each other's top 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 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 workers stationed in the country.

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

"It would be terrific if we could verify 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 forum.altaycoins.com the journey.

Japan's Nikkei paper said Thursday the pair will release a joint statement, which could vow to build a "golden age" of bilateral relations and bring the alliance to "brand-new heights".

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

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

Since Japan has actually cut its liquefied gas (LNG) imports from Russia, it "frantically requires to open up 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 present a win-win value proposition from Ishiba to the president," she said.

Trump will fulfill Ishiba in Washington on Friday-- simply days after a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, where the US president sparked uproar with a proposition to take control of the Gaza Strip.

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

- Taiwan risk -

Ishiba has stressed 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 should "continue to secure the US commitment to the region, to prevent a power vacuum resulting in local instability", Ishiba just recently informed parliament.

Trump and Ishiba are expected 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.

Concentrating on this point is "exceptionally essential" because Japan and the United States must work together to prevent 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 burden of defence expenses, however, library.kemu.ac.ke there are issues Trump might supply 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 causing jitters is Trump's desire to slap trade tariffs on major trading partners China, yewiki.org Canada, and Mexico-- though he has actually postponed procedures against the latter two nations pending talks.

"I hope Ishiba will reveal him there are other methods to attain economic security," such as cooperating on innovation, Shiraishi told AFP.

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

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

Japan and the United States are each other's top foreign financiers, and wiki.lafabriquedelalogistique.fr the Nikkei reported that the leaders will settle on creating 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 likewise hosted Akie Abe, the widow of Japan's assassinated ex-premier, for a dinner with Melania Trump at their Florida residence.

Trump developed a strong relationship with Abe, for whom Smith thinks 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 very first Japanese VIP to fulfill the 78-year-old Trump personally because he took office-- a difference held by SoftBank creator Masayoshi Son.