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.

WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump meets 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