A few days before Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is due to visit Washington, US President Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social platform urging Japan and other countries to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz to help secure the key Middle Eastern shipping route. He also named China, France, South Korea and the United Kingdom.
“In the meantime,” posted Trump, “the United States will be bombing the hell out of the shoreline, and continually shooting Iranian boats and ships out of the water.” He later added, “The U.S. will also coordinate with those Countries so that everything goes quickly, smoothly, and well. This should have always been a team effort, and now it will be.”
Trump and Takaichi To Discuss Warship Request in Face-to-Face Meeting
In response to Trump’s post, Takaichi said on Monday, “Japan does not currently plan to dispatch naval vessels to escort ships in the Middle East. We have not made any decisions whatsoever about dispatching escort ships. We are continuing to examine what Japan can do independently and what can be done within the legal framework.”
It is very likely that Trump will bring up the topic when he meets Takaichi this week. The issue is expected to take center stage during her brief Washington visit, as Japan balances its alliance commitments with legal limits on overseas military action. She is expected to stress constitutional constraints while exploring ways to assist.
There were concerns that Takaichi, who previously said she typically sleeps only two to four hours a night, might not be able to make the trip after she was seen struggling to stand in parliament last week amid what aides described as symptoms of a cold. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Kihara confirmed on Saturday that she had been ill but has now fully recovered.
Japanese Public Largely Opposes Deeper Involvement in Conflict
With the Washington trip looming, Takaichi faces not only the demands of diplomacy but also the challenge of managing domestic scrutiny over Japan’s role in the Middle East. Public opinion here appears largely opposed to deeper involvement in the conflict. A recent Asahi Shimbun survey found that 82 % of respondents do not support the US military attack on Iran, while 51 % said they do not approve of Prime Minister Takaichi’s decision not to clarify whether the attack raises legal concerns.
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AloJapan.com