Japan and the US are key defence allies and each other's top foreign financiers
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 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 workers stationed in the country.
Ishiba will be promoting peace of mind on the importance of the US-Japan alliance, as Trump's "America First" agenda risks intruding on the nations' trade and defence ties.
"It would be wonderful if we could verify that we will collaborate for the advancement this area and the world and for peace," Ishiba told reporters in Tokyo before leaving for videochatforum.ro the .
Japan's Nikkei newspaper said Thursday the pair will issue a joint declaration, which might vow to construct a "golden age" of bilateral relations and bring the alliance to "brand-new heights".
Ishiba is expected to inform Trump that Japan will increase defence buy from the United States, the Nikkei said.
Ishiba might likewise 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 cut its liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports from Russia, classicalmusicmp3freedownload.com it "desperately requires to open up 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 provide a win-win worth proposal 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 outcry with a proposition to take over the Gaza Strip.
The Japan summit might be less startling, Smith said, as Trump "has a fairly strong commitment to the alliances in Asia".
- Taiwan danger -
Ishiba has stressed the significance of US defence ties, indicating hazards on Japan's doorstep such as China pushing its claims of sovereignty on the self-ruled island of Taiwan.
Tokyo should "continue to secure the US commitment to the area, to prevent a power vacuum resulting in regional instability", Ishiba just recently informed parliament.
Trump and Ishiba are expected to affirm the significance 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 "incredibly essential" since Japan and the United States must interact to prevent a possible crisis, said Takashi Shiraishi, a global relations professional at the Prefectural University of Kumamoto.
As Japan and wiki.dulovic.tech the United States renegotiate how to share the burden of defence expenses, however, there are issues Trump might supply 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 triggering jitters is Trump's willingness to slap trade tariffs on significant trading partners China, Canada, and Mexico-- though he has actually postponed steps against the latter 2 nations pending talks.
"I hope Ishiba will show him there are other methods to attain economic security," such as working together on innovation, Shiraishi told AFP.
One example is the Stargate drive, revealed after Trump's January inauguration, to invest as much as $500 billion in AI facilities in the United States, hb9lc.org led by Japanese tech financial investment behemoth SoftBank Group and US firm OpenAI.
Reports said the leaders might likewise discuss Nippon Steel's $14.9 billion bid to purchase US Steel, which Biden obstructed on nationwide security grounds.
Japan and the United States are each other's leading foreign investors, and the Nikkei reported that the leaders will agree on producing an investment-friendly environment.
During his very first term, Trump and Japan's then-prime minister Shinzo Abe enjoyed warm relations.
As president-elect in December, dokuwiki.stream Trump also hosted Akie Abe, the widow of Japan's assassinated ex-premier, for a supper with Melania Trump at their Florida home.
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 individual".
Ishiba, 68, will not be the very first Japanese VIP to meet the 78-year-old Trump in individual given that he took office-- a distinction held by SoftBank creator Masayoshi Son.
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Japan pM Heads to uS For Trump Summit
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