In Japan, Donald Trump will meet the emperor, hold talks with new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and make a speech on the USS George Washington aircraft carrier.

In his stay from Monday to Wednesday, the US president will also sign deals on critical minerals and shipbuilding, and may even be gifted some gold-plated golf balls, media reports said.

AFP looks at the main issues for the visit.

- Hosting US troops -

Tokyo is Washington's closest regional ally. A security treaty obliges the United States to defend Japan if attacked and allows US troops to be stationed there.

But Trump has said he wants Tokyo to pay more to host the around 60,000 US military personnel currently in Japan, deriding the decades-old pact as a free ride.

If the United States were attacked, Japan "doesn't have to

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