Japan and the US are key defence allies and each other's leading foreign investors
Japanese Prime 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 personnel stationed in the country.
Ishiba will be promoting peace of mind on the importance of the US-Japan alliance, as Trump's "America First" program dangers intruding on the countries' trade and defence ties.
"It would be terrific if we might affirm that we will interact 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 paper said Thursday the pair will issue a joint statement, which could vow to develop 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 buy from the United States, annunciogratis.net the Nikkei said.
Ishiba may also propose importing more US gas-- chiming with Trump's plan to "drill, child, drill" while improving energy security for resource-poor Japan.
Since Japan has actually cut its melted gas (LNG) imports from Russia, it "frantically needs to open new sources of LNG, and other energy more broadly", Sheila Smith, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, informed 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-- just days after a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, where the US president sparked uproar with a proposal to take control of the Gaza Strip.
The Japan top could be less startling, Smith said, wiki.eqoarevival.com 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 must "continue to secure the US commitment to the area, to avoid a power vacuum resulting in regional instability", Ishiba just recently told parliament.
Trump and coastalplainplants.org Ishiba are expected to verify the value 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.
Concentrating on this point is "very important" because Japan and the United States should work together to prevent 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 problem of defence costs, nevertheless, there are concerns Trump could offer 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, [forum.batman.gainedge.org](https://forum.batman.gainedge.org/index.php?action=profile
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Japan pM Heads to United States For Trump Summit
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