Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is on her way to what she expects will be a "very difficult" meeting with US leader Donald Trump, days after his calls for allies to help secure the war-stricken Strait of Hormuz went largely unanswered.
Takaichi told parliament hours before her departure that she would "do everything to maximise [Japan's] national interest".
The three-day visit to Washington was a chance to talk trade and deepen the US-Japan alliance ahead of Trump's diplomatic trip to China - which has now been postponed because of the war.
But now it is the topic of the war that will likely overshadow the meeting, which is shaping up to be a test of Takaichi's friendship with Trump.
The trip was scheduled back in October, a week after Takaichi took office, when Tokyo rolled out the red carpet for Trump and the two leaders heaped compliments on each other, heralding a new "golden age" in bilateral ties.
