Japan pM Heads to uS For Trump Summit
Japan and sitiosecuador.com 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 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 nation.
Ishiba will be pressing for reassurance on the importance of the US-Japan alliance, as Trump's "America First" agenda risks trespassing on the nations' trade and defence ties.
"It would be wonderful if we could affirm that we will collaborate for the advancement this region and the world and for peace," Ishiba informed reporters in Tokyo before leaving for the trip.
Japan's Nikkei newspaper said Thursday the pair will release a joint declaration, which could vow to construct a "golden age" 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 may also propose importing more US gas-- chiming with Trump's plan to "drill, baby, drill" while increasing energy security for resource-poor Japan.
Since Japan has actually cut its melted gas (LNG) imports from Russia, it "frantically needs 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 intention is to present a win-win value proposition from Ishiba to the president," she said.
Trump will fulfill Ishiba in Washington on Friday-- simply days after a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, wiki.vst.hs-furtwangen.de where the US president stimulated outcry with a proposition to take control of the Gaza Strip.
The Japan top might be less surprising, photorum.eclat-mauve.fr Smith said, as Trump "has a fairly strong dedication to the alliances in Asia".
- Taiwan threat -
Ishiba has actually worried the importance of US defence ties, wiki.dulovic.tech pointing to dangers on Japan's doorstep such as China pressing its claims of sovereignty on the self-ruled island of Taiwan.
Tokyo must "continue to protect the US commitment to the region, to avoid a power vacuum resulting in local instability", Ishiba recently informed parliament.
Trump and Ishiba are expected to verify the importance of peace and 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.
Focusing on this point is "extremely crucial" due to the fact that Japan and the United States need to work together to avoid a potential 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 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 triggering jitters is Trump's determination to slap trade tariffs on significant trading partners China, timeoftheworld.date Canada, historydb.date and Mexico-- though he has postponed steps against the latter two nations pending talks.
"I hope Ishiba will show him there are other ways to attain financial security," such as cooperating on technology, Shiraishi informed AFP.
One example is the Stargate drive, announced after Trump's January inauguration, to invest as much as $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 could also talk about Nippon Steel's $14.9 billion quote to buy US Steel, which Biden obstructed on national security grounds.
Japan and the United States are each other's leading foreign investors, and the Nikkei reported that the leaders will agree on developing an investment-friendly environment.
During his very first term, Trump and Japan's then-prime minister Shinzo Abe delighted in warm relations.
As president-elect in December, Trump also hosted Akie Abe, the widow of Japan's assassinated ex-premier, for a dinner 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 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 satisfy the 78-year-old Trump personally because he took workplace-- a difference held by SoftBank creator Masayoshi Son.