Japan pM Heads to uS For Trump Summit

Japan and the US are key 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 summit with a foreign leader because his go back 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 promoting reassurance on the importance of the US-Japan alliance, as Trump’s „America First“ agenda threats encroaching on the countries’ 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 press reporters in Tokyo before leaving for the journey.

Japan’s Nikkei newspaper said Thursday the pair will provide a joint declaration, which could 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, dokuwiki.stream the Nikkei said.

Ishiba might likewise propose importing more US gas– chiming with Trump’s plan to „drill, baby, drill“ while enhancing energy security for resource-poor Japan.

Since Japan has cut its liquefied 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, told AFP.

„The intention is to present a win-win value proposition from Ishiba to the president,“ she said.

Trump will satisfy Ishiba in Washington on Friday– simply days after a joint interview with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, where the US president triggered uproar with a proposal 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 hazard –

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

Tokyo should „continue to protect the US commitment to the area, to prevent a power vacuum leading to regional instability“, Ishiba just recently told parliament.

Trump and Ishiba are expected to verify 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 „exceptionally crucial“ because Japan and the United States need to collaborate to prevent a prospective crisis, said Takashi Shiraishi, wiki.lafabriquedelalogistique.fr a global relations specialist at the Prefectural University of Kumamoto.

As Japan and the United States renegotiate how to share the burden of defence costs, however, there are concerns Trump could 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 countries pending talks.

„I hope Ishiba will show him there are other ways to attain economic security,“ such as cooperating on innovation, Shiraishi informed AFP.

One example is the Stargate drive, revealed after Trump’s January inauguration, to invest approximately $500 billion in AI in the United States, led by Japanese tech investment behemoth SoftBank Group and US firm OpenAI.

Reports said the leaders might also talk about Nippon Steel’s $14.9 billion quote to buy US Steel, annunciogratis.net which Biden blocked on national security grounds.

Japan and the United States are each other’s top foreign financiers, and the Nikkei reported that the leaders will settle 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 dinner 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 various lens“, said Smith, valetinowiki.racing and „it will be more the state-to-state relationship, not the individual“.

Ishiba, 68, will not be the very first Japanese VIP to fulfill the 78-year-old Trump face to face because he took workplace– a difference held by SoftBank creator Masayoshi Son.