The trip, part of a four-country trade mission, comes as the Florida governor seeks to burnish foreign policy credentials ahead of an official announcement that he will run for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, expected later this year.

“We really appreciate what a great ally Japan has been to the US for many, many decades,” DeSantis told Kishida at the start of their meeting at the prime minister’s office in Tokyo.

Japan last year unveiled a five-year, $315 billion military expansion in the face of an increasingly powerful China and as North Korea steps up its missile launches, a move that DeSantis praised.

“We very much applaud your efforts to bolster your defenses. We understand it’s a tough neighborhood out here ... and we really believe that a strong Japan is good for America, and a strong America is good for Japan,” he said.

DeSantis also met Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi on Monday evening and spoke of how keen he was to see a deepening of economic relations between Japan and Florida.

“We believe Florida’s market is a great opportunity for additional investment from Japanese companies,” DeSantis said ahead of a working dinner with Hayashi, adding that he hoped to see more Japanese investment in Florida specifically.

“You are the number one foreign direct investment in America ... which we appreciate, but you’re only number six in Florida, so I think we can make that go higher,” he said.

DeSantis will head to South Korea, Israel and Britain after leaving Japan.

The US Republican Party will not formally choose its next presidential nominee until August of next year at its national convention.

But with the first presidential debate little more than three months away, several Republicans have launched campaigns already.

More are expected to join in the coming weeks.

For DeSantis, who has operated for much of the year with a quiet confidence that he could enter the race on his terms, some Republicans suggest it may be later than he thinks.