Department of Research, Studies and International News 06-02-2025

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba headed to the United States on Thursday ahead of what would 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 US in Asia, with around 54,000 US military personnel stationed in the East Asian country.

Ishiba will be pushing for reassurance on the importance of the US-Japan alliance, as Trump’s “America First” agenda risks encroaching on the nations’ trade and defense ties.

Japan’s Nikkei newspaper said on Thursday the pair would issue a joint statement, which could vow to build a “golden age” of bilateral relations and bring the alliance to “new heights.”

Ishiba is expected to tell Trump that Japan will increase defense purchases from the US, the Nikkei said.

Ishiba may also propose importing more US natural gas — chiming with Trump’s plan to “drill, baby, drill” while boosting energy security for resource-poor Japan.

“The intention is to present a win-win value proposition from Ishiba to the president,” Sheila Smith, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Also, “Japan has cut its liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports from Russia. So Japan desperately needs to open up new sources of LNG, and other energy [sources] more broadly,” 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 sparked uproar with a proposal to take over the Gaza Strip.

The Japan summit could be less startling, Smith said, as Trump “has a fairly strong commitment to the alliances in Asia.”

“This is probably a very calm, cool reassurance meeting,” she said.

Taiwan threat

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

Tokyo must “continue to secure the US commitment to the region, to avoid a power vacuum leading to regional instability,” Ishiba recently told parliament.

Trump and Ishiba are expected to affirm the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, Japanese media said.

That would echo joint statements made by Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden with previous Japanese prime ministers.

Focusing on this point is “extremely important” because Japan and the US must work together to prevent a potential crisis, said Takashi Shiraishi, a professor and international relations expert at the Prefectural University of Kumamoto.

Both sides also plan to state Washington’s “unwavering commitment” to Japan’s defense, the Yomiuri daily reported.

As Japan and the US renegotiate how to share the burden of defense costs, however, there are concerns Trump could provide less cash and push Japan to do more, Smith said.

“That’s where… the Ishiba-Trump relationship could get a bit sticky,” she said.

Trump’s willingness to slap trade tariffs on major trading partners Canada, Mexico and China has also caused jitters.

“I hope Ishiba will show him there are other ways to achieve economic security,” such as cooperating on technology, Shiraishi told AFP.

One example is the Stargate drive, announced after Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration, to invest up to $500 billion in AI infrastructure in the US, led by Japanese tech investment behemoth SoftBank Group and US firm OpenAI.

Reports said the leaders could also discuss Nippon Steel’s $14.9-billion bid to buy US Steel, which Biden blocked on national security grounds.

Japan and the US are each other’s top foreign investors, and the Nikkei reported that the leaders will agree on creating an investment-friendly environment.