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 given 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 country.

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

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

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

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

Ishiba may likewise propose importing more US gas-- chiming with Trump's strategy to "drill, infant, 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 up new sources of LNG, and other energy more broadly", sitiosecuador.com Sheila Smith, at the Council on Foreign Relations, informed AFP.

"The intent is to provide a win-win worth 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 uproar with a proposal to take control of the Gaza Strip.

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

- Taiwan hazard -

Ishiba has actually stressed the importance of US defence ties, sitiosecuador.com pointing to 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 secure the US commitment to the region, to prevent a power vacuum causing 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.

Concentrating on this point is "extremely essential" due to the fact that Japan and the United States should collaborate to prevent a prospective crisis, larsaluarna.se said Takashi Shiraishi, wiki.fablabbcn.org a worldwide relations specialist at the Prefectural University of Kumamoto.

As Japan and the United States renegotiate how to share the problem of defence expenses, nevertheless, there are issues Trump could provide less cash 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 desire to slap trade tariffs on major trading partners China, Canada, and Mexico-- though he has actually delayed procedures against the latter two nations pending talks.

"I hope Ishiba will reveal him there are other ways to attain economic security," such as working together on technology, Shiraishi informed AFP.

One example is the Stargate drive, announced after Trump's January inauguration, to invest up to $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 also discuss Nippon Steel's $14.9 billion quote to buy US Steel, which Biden blocked on nationwide security premises.

Japan and the United States are each other's leading foreign investors, it-viking.ch and the Nikkei reported that the leaders will concur on producing 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 also hosted Akie Abe, the widow of Japan's assassinated ex-premier, for a dinner with Melania Trump at their Florida residence.

Trump constructed a strong relationship with Abe, for whom Smith thinks he had a "genuine 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 in individual since he took office-- a difference held by SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son.