Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba yesterday headed to the US ahead of what would be US 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 about 54,000 US military personnel stationed in the country.
Ishiba would be pushing for reassurance on the importance of the US-Japan alliance, as Trump’s “America First” agenda risks encroaching on the nation’s trade and defense ties.
Photo: AFP
He might also propose increasing imports of US natural gas, local media said, 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,” said Sheila Smith, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.
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 more broadly,” she said.
Trump would meet Ishiba in Washington today, just days after a joint news 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, as Trump “has a fairly strong commitment to the alliances in Asia,” Smith said.
“This is probably a very calm, cool reassurance meeting,” she said.
On defense, both sides plan to state Washington’s “unwavering commitment” to Japan’s defense, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported.
However, as Japan and the US renegotiate how to share the burden of defense costs, 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, said Takashi Shiraishi, a professor and international relations expert at the Prefectural University of Kumamoto.
One example is the Stargate drive, announced after Trump’s inauguration, to invest up to US$500 billion in artificial intelligence infrastructure in the US, led by Japanese tech investment behemoth Softbank Corp and US firm OpenAI.
Reports said the leaders could also discuss Nippon Steel’s US$14.9 billion bid to buy US Steel, which former US President Joe Biden blocked on national security grounds.
Japan and the US are each other’s top foreign investors, a point Ishiba could stress during the talks.
During his first term, Trump and then-Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe enjoyed warm relations.
As US president-elect in December last year, Trump also hosted Akie Abe, the widow of Shinzo Abe for a dinner with Melania Trump at their Florida residence.
Trump built a strong relationship with Shinzo Abe, for whom Smith believes he had a “genuine fondness.”
He would likely “see Ishiba through a different lens,” Smith said. “It will be more the state-to-state relationship, not the personal.”
Ishiba, 68, would not be the first Japanese VIP to meet the 78-year-old Trump in person since he took office — an accolade held by SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son.
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