Japanese SDF Dispatch to Hormuz Faces High Hurdles

Newsfrom Japan

Politics

Mar 16, 2026 16:58 (JST)

Tokyo, March 16 (Jiji Press)–U.S. President Donald Trump’s call on Japan to send Self-Defense Forces ships to the Strait of Hormuz has put the country in a difficult situation, as deploying SDF ships to the area would face high hurdles.

In a social media post Saturday, Trump urged Japan and other countries to send warships to the strait, which is under effective blockade amid U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran. “Hopefully China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and others, that are affected by this artificial constraint, will send ships to the area,” he said.

From Wednesday, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is set to make her first U.S. trip since taking office last October. Trump may directly ask her to send the SDF to the strait, a major oil choke point.

Tokyo has launched full-scale discussions on how to respond to Trump’s request within the constraints of the Constitution and existing laws.

The government “has made no decision at all on whether to send any destroyers” to the area, Takaichi told the Budget Committee of the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of parliament. Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said his ministry is “not considering sending the SDF” to the area.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]

Jiji Press