The Japanese prime minister comes to the US before his meeting with Trump.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has arrived in the US before his meeting with US President Donald Trump. The two leaders are likely to talk about how to work together more closely on defense and the economy.

A planned merger between US Steel and Japan’s Nippon Steel, which was stopped by Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, last month because of worries about national security, could also be on the agenda.

Trump has expressed disagreement with the US Steel deal, having met with US Steel CEO David Burritt. Nippon Steel has reiterated that the bid is the best proposal for US Steel, and vice chairman Takahiro Mori hopes the meeting will demonstrate this and facilitate a deal. This marks the first Asian leader to meet Trump since Trump’s re-election.People really want to go on this trip because the president wants allies to spend more on defense.

Ishiba will probably want to talk about Japanese investments in the US as well as the security alliance between the US and Japan in the Asia-Pacific region, which is a key part of Washington’s security policy.

A treaty from 1960 called the Mutual Cooperation and Security Treaty allows the US to keep a large military force in Japan. About 60,000 soldiers are stationed in Japan as part of US Forces Japan, which is based at Yokota Air Base.