U.S. President Donald Trump will meet Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba for the first time on Friday as two allies wary of China's rise work to boost business and security ties while an escalating trade war threatens to rupture the global economy.

Trump put a 10 per cent tariff on all imports from China in what he called an opening salvo in a clash between the world's two largest economies

Ishiba will be the second foreign leader – following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – to meet face-to-face with Trump since the president’s second inauguration on January 20.

A heightened sense of risk and opportunity is building in Japanese markets on Friday as Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba prepares for his first meeting with President Donald Trump.

When Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba meets with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Friday, his goal, according to Japanese officials, will be straightforward: reaffirm the U.S.-Japan alliance and build a strong rapport with Trump.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba will likely proceed cautiously in his first meeting with President Donald Trump on Friday as he seeks to avoid economic fallout from tariffs and reaffirm his country’s security alliance with the US.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba jetted off to the U.S. Thursday to discuss a changed security and economic landscape in Asia ushered in by the newly inaugurated President Donald Trump.