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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 second summit with a foreign leader since his return 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 nation.

Ishiba will be pushing for reassurance on the significance of the US-Japan alliance, as Trump's "America First" agenda threats encroaching on the countries' trade and defence ties.

"It would be wonderful if we could affirm that we will interact for the advancement this region and the world and for peace," Ishiba told reporters in Tokyo before leaving for the journey.

Japan's Nikkei paper said Thursday the pair will provide a joint declaration, which might vow to construct a "golden age" of bilateral relations and bring the alliance to "new heights".

Ishiba is expected to inform Trump that Japan will increase defence purchases from the United States, the Nikkei said.

Ishiba might likewise more US gas-- chiming with Trump's strategy to "drill, infant, drill" while boosting energy security for resource-poor Japan.

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

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

Trump will meet Ishiba in Washington on Friday-- just days after a joint interview with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, where the US president sparked uproar with a proposition to take over the Gaza Strip.

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

- Taiwan hazard -

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

Tokyo must "continue to secure the US commitment to the area, to prevent a power vacuum leading to local instability", Ishiba recently informed parliament.

Trump and Ishiba are expected to verify 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 "incredibly crucial" since Japan and the United States must work together to avoid a possible crisis, said Takashi Shiraishi, a global relations professional at the Prefectural University of Kumamoto.

As Japan and the United States renegotiate how to share the problem of defence expenses, however, there are concerns Trump could supply less money and push Japan to do more, Smith said.

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

- After Abe -

Also causing jitters is Trump's willingness to slap trade tariffs on major trading partners China, Canada, oke.zone and Mexico-- though he has delayed measures against the latter 2 countries pending talks.

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

One example is the Stargate drive, announced after Trump's January inauguration, to invest as much as $500 billion in AI infrastructure in the United States, led by Japanese tech investment leviathan SoftBank Group and US firm OpenAI.

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

Japan and the United States are each other's leading foreign investors, and the Nikkei reported that the leaders will settle on developing an investment-friendly environment.

During his first term, Trump and akropolistravel.com 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 home.

Trump developed a strong relationship with Abe, utahsyardsale.com for whom Smith thinks he had a "authentic 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 meet the 78-year-old Trump personally because he took workplace-- a difference held by SoftBank creator Masayoshi Son.