1 Japan pM Heads to uS For Trump Summit

brookelenihan4 edited this page 2025-02-11 08:58:43 +01:00

Japan and the US are crucial defence allies and funsilo.date 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 top 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 nation.

Ishiba will be promoting peace of mind on the value of the US-Japan alliance, as Trump's "America First" program threats trespassing on the nations' trade and defence ties.

"It would be wonderful if we could verify that we will interact for the development this area 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 release a joint declaration, which might vow to build a "golden age" of bilateral relations and bring the alliance to "brand-new heights".

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

Ishiba may likewise propose importing more US natural gas-- chiming with Trump's strategy to "drill, infant, drill" while increasing energy security for resource-poor Japan.

Since Japan has cut its melted natural gas (LNG) imports from Russia, it "desperately 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 intent is to present a win-win worth proposition from Ishiba to the president," she said.

Trump will satisfy Ishiba in Washington on Friday-- just days after a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, where the US president triggered outcry with a proposal to take over the Gaza Strip.

The Japan summit could be less shocking, Smith said, as Trump "has a fairly strong dedication to the alliances in Asia".

- Taiwan risk -

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

Tokyo should "continue to protect the US commitment to the area, to avoid a power vacuum resulting in local instability", Ishiba recently told parliament.

Trump and Ishiba are anticipated 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 "very crucial" due to the fact that Japan and the United States must collaborate to avoid a prospective crisis, said Takashi Shiraishi, an international relations professional 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 causing jitters is Trump's willingness to slap trade tariffs on major trading partners China, Canada, and Mexico-- though he has actually delayed measures against the latter two pending talks.

"I hope Ishiba will show him there are other methods to attain financial security," such as working together on innovation, Shiraishi told AFP.

One example is the Stargate drive, revealed after Trump's January inauguration, to invest approximately $500 billion in AI infrastructure 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 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 first term, Trump and Japan's then-prime minister Shinzo Abe enjoyed warm relations.

As president-elect in December, accc.rcec.sinica.edu.tw 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 believes he had a "authentic fondness".

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

Ishiba, 68, will not be the first Japanese VIP to fulfill the 78-year-old Trump personally considering that he took office-- a distinction held by SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son.