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 top 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 workers stationed in the nation.

Ishiba will be promoting peace of mind on the significance of the US-Japan alliance, as Trump's "America First" program dangers encroaching on the nations' trade and defence ties.

"It would be fantastic if we could verify that we will work together 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 newspaper said Thursday the pair will issue a joint declaration, which might vow to develop a "golden age" of bilateral relations and bring the alliance to "new heights".

Ishiba is anticipated to inform 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 strategy to "drill, baby, drill" while increasing energy security for resource-poor Japan.

Since Japan has cut its liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports from Russia, it "desperately needs 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 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 triggered outcry with a proposal to take over the Gaza Strip.

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

- Taiwan danger -

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

Tokyo needs to "continue to secure the US dedication to the area, to prevent a power vacuum leading to local instability", Ishiba just recently told 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.

Focusing on this point is "very important" because Japan and the United States must collaborate to avoid a potential crisis, said Takashi Shiraishi, a global relations expert at the Prefectural University of Kumamoto.

As Japan and the United States renegotiate how to share the concern of defence costs, however, there are issues Trump could offer less cash and push Japan to do more, asteroidsathome.net Smith said.

"That's where ... the Ishiba-Trump relationship might get a bit sticky," she said.

- After Abe -

Also triggering jitters is Trump's desire to slap trade tariffs on significant trading partners China, Canada, and Mexico-- though he has actually delayed measures against the latter 2 nations pending talks.

"I hope Ishiba will show him there are other methods to attain financial security," such as cooperating on innovation, 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 financial investment leviathan SoftBank Group and US firm OpenAI.

Reports said the leaders might also discuss Nippon Steel's $14.9 billion bid to purchase US Steel, which Biden blocked on national security premises.

Japan and the United States are each foreign investors, and the Nikkei reported that the leaders will settle 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 "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 individual".

Ishiba, 68, will not be the very first Japanese VIP to satisfy the 78-year-old Trump in person considering that he took workplace-- a distinction held by SoftBank creator Masayoshi Son.