Speaking to parliament on Monday, multiple government officials denied the possibility of an immediate Self-Defense Forces deployment to the Strait of Hormuz — though they stopped short of ruling out the possibility altogether. But with U.S. President Donald Trump renewing his call to form a Hormuz coalition, discussions in Tokyo are sure to intensify.
Trump on Monday once again named Japan as a country he expects to participate in securing the critical Middle Eastern waterway, claiming that countries who receive “90 to 95% of their energy or their oil” through the strait “should be in here very happily helping us.” His remarks focused primarily on the deployment of minesweepers, a mission in which the SDF have top-tier capabilities.
Amidst this external pressure from Japan’s lone ally, the debate in Japan about the Iran War thus far has avoided bombast or hyperbole, and instead focused on legality and necessity. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s administration has not yet issued any formal positions as it awaits a formal request from Washington.
AloJapan.com