Japan and the US are essential 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 second summit with a foreign leader since 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" agenda dangers intruding on the nations' trade and defence ties.

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

Japan's Nikkei paper said Thursday the pair will issue a joint declaration, forum.batman.gainedge.org which might vow to build a "golden era" of bilateral relations and bring the alliance to "new heights".

Ishiba is anticipated to tell Trump that Japan will increase defence buy from the United States, the Nikkei said.

Ishiba might also propose importing more US natural gas-- chiming with Trump's plan to "drill, child, drill" while enhancing energy security for resource-poor Japan.

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

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

Trump will meet Ishiba in Washington on Friday-- just days after a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, where the US president stimulated outcry with a proposition to take control of the Gaza Strip.

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

- Taiwan risk -

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

Tokyo needs to "continue to protect the US dedication to the area, to prevent a power vacuum resulting in regional instability", Ishiba just recently told parliament.

Trump and Ishiba are anticipated to verify 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 "incredibly important" because Japan and the United States must collaborate to prevent a potential crisis, links.gtanet.com.br said Takashi Shiraishi, an international relations professional at the Prefectural University of Kumamoto.

As Japan and the United States renegotiate how to share the concern of defence expenses, nevertheless, there are issues Trump might offer 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 though he has delayed procedures against the latter 2 countries pending talks.

"I hope Ishiba will show him there are other methods to attain economic security," such as complying on innovation, Shiraishi told 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 leviathan 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 blocked on national security premises.

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

During his first term, Trump and Japan's then-prime minister Shinzo Abe enjoyed 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 home.

Trump developed a strong relationship with Abe, for whom Smith believes he had a "real fondness".

He will likely "see Ishiba through a various lens", said Smith, wiki.whenparked.com and "it will be more the state-to-state relationship, not the individual".

Ishiba, 68, will not be the first Japanese VIP to satisfy the 78-year-old Trump in person considering that he took workplace-- a difference held by SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son.