The Japanese government is working to clarify what US President Donald Trump is seeking from Tokyo ahead of Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae’s trip to the United States later this week.
Trump posted on social media on Saturday that he hopes countries affected by the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, including Japan and China, will send ships to the area.
The post was made amid rising concerns of a surge in crude oil prices due to the closure.
Takaichi is scheduled to meet with Trump on Thursday. On Sunday, she was briefed by her secretaries at the Prime Minister’s office on the situation in the Middle East.
Some Japanese government officials say preparations are needed for the possibility that Japan will be asked to take some kind of action, including a dispatch of Self-Defense Force personnel to the area.
Some members of Japan’s ruling parties have expressed the view that a dispatch of the SDF would be a substantial hurdle amid ongoing attacks between the US, Israel and Iran.
The government is working to make preparations through telephone talks between cabinet officials and other channels.
At the upcoming summit, Takaichi and Trump are also expected to discuss strengthening cooperation in economic security. That could include talks on developing undersea rare earth resources near Japan’s Minamitorishima Island in the Pacific.
AloJapan.com