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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 considering 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 workers stationed in the country.

Ishiba will be pressing for reassurance on the importance of the US-Japan alliance, as Trump's "America First" program risks intruding on the countries' trade and defence ties.

"It would be terrific if we could affirm that we will work together for the advancement this region and the world and for peace," Ishiba informed press reporters in Tokyo before leaving for the trip.

Japan's Nikkei paper said Thursday the pair will provide a joint declaration, which could vow to construct a "golden era" 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 natural gas-- chiming with Trump's strategy to "drill, baby, drill" while improving energy security for resource-poor Japan.

Since Japan has cut its melted natural gas (LNG) imports from Russia, it "desperately needs to open up brand-new sources of LNG, and other energy more broadly", Sheila Smith, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, informed AFP.

"The objective is to provide a win-win worth proposition from Ishiba to the president," she said.

Trump will satisfy Ishiba in Washington on Friday-- just days after a joint interview with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, where the US president stimulated uproar with a proposal to take control of the Gaza Strip.

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

- Taiwan danger -

Ishiba has actually worried the importance of US defence ties, indicating threats on Japan's doorstep such as China pressing its claims of sovereignty on the self-ruled island of Taiwan.

Tokyo should "continue to protect the US commitment to the region, to avoid a power vacuum resulting in regional instability", Ishiba recently informed parliament.

Trump and Ishiba are expected to affirm the value 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 "extremely essential" due to the fact that Japan and the United States need to collaborate to avoid a possible crisis, said Takashi Shiraishi, an international relations expert at the Prefectural University of Kumamoto.

As Japan and the United States renegotiate how to share the burden of defence costs, nevertheless, there are issues Trump could provide less money and to do more, Smith said.

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

- After Abe -

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

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

One example is the Stargate drive, revealed 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 US firm OpenAI.

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

Japan and the United States are each other's top foreign financiers, historydb.date and the Nikkei reported that the leaders will agree on creating an investment-friendly environment.

During his 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 supper 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 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 satisfy the 78-year-old Trump in person because he took workplace-- a difference held by SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son.