Japan and the US are essential defence allies and each other's leading foreign investors

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Thursday left for the United States ahead of what will be President Donald Trump's 2nd summit with a foreign leader because his return 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 value of the US-Japan alliance, as Trump's "America First" program risks encroaching on the countries' trade and defence ties.

"It would be wonderful if we could verify that we will interact for the advancement this area and the world and for peace," Ishiba informed press reporters in Tokyo before leaving for king-wifi.win the journey.

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

Ishiba is expected 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 strategy to "drill, infant, drill" while improving energy security for resource-poor Japan.

Since Japan has cut its melted gas (LNG) imports from Russia, yewiki.org it "frantically 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 intention is to present a win-win value proposition from Ishiba to the president," she said.

Trump will fulfill Ishiba in Washington on Friday-- just days after a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, setiathome.berkeley.edu where the US president triggered uproar with a proposal to take control of the Gaza Strip.

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

- Taiwan threat -

Ishiba has actually stressed the value 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 must "continue to protect the US dedication to the area, to avoid a power vacuum causing regional instability", Ishiba 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 declarations made by the last US president Joe Biden with previous Japanese prime ministers.

Focusing on this point is "incredibly essential" due to the fact that Japan and the United States should collaborate to prevent a potential crisis, said Takashi Shiraishi, an international relations expert at the Prefectural University of Kumamoto.

As Japan and kenpoguy.com the United States renegotiate how to share the concern of defence costs, however, there are concerns Trump might 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 determination to slap trade tariffs on major trading partners China, Canada, and Mexico-- though he has actually delayed steps against the latter two countries pending talks.

"I hope Ishiba will show him there are other ways to attain financial security," such as cooperating on innovation, Shiraishi told AFP.

One example is the Stargate drive, announced after Trump's January inauguration, to invest approximately $500 billion in AI facilities in the United States, led by Japanese tech investment behemoth SoftBank Group and wiki.myamens.com US firm OpenAI.

Reports said the leaders might also go over Nippon Steel's $14.9 billion bid to purchase US Steel, morphomics.science which Biden blocked on nationwide security premises.

Japan and the United States are each other's top foreign financiers, and the Nikkei reported that the leaders will settle 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 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 individual".

Ishiba, 68, will not be the first Japanese VIP to fulfill the 78-year-old Trump in individual given that he took office-- a distinction held by SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son.