Japan Could Consider Deploying Military to Hormuz If Ceasefire Reached, Foreign Minister Says

PUKMEDIA

Japanese Foreign Minister ‌Toshimitsu Motegi.

Japan could consider deploying its military to conduct minesweeping operations in the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global oil supplies, if a ceasefire is reached in the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, Foreign Minister ‌Toshimitsu Motegi said on Sunday.

"If there were to be a complete ceasefire, hypothetically speaking, then things like minesweeping could come up," Motegi said during a Fuji TV programme. "This is purely hypothetical, but if a ceasefire were established and naval mines were creating an obstacle, then I think that would be ⁠something to consider."

Japan’s military activities are constrained by its post-war pacifist constitution. However, security legislation introduced in 2015 permits the deployment of the Japan Self-Defense Forces overseas in limited circumstances, including when an attack on a close ally threatens Japan’s survival and no alternative measures are available.

Motegi added that Tokyo currently has no immediate plans to arrange safe passage for stranded Japanese vessels through the Strait of Hormuz. He emphasised the importance of ensuring secure navigation through the narrow waterway, which handles around one-fifth of the world’s oil shipments.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told Japan's Kyodo news agency on Friday that he had spoken to Motegi about potentially letting Japanese-related vessels pass through the strait.

Japan gets around 90% of its oil shipments via ⁠the strait, which Tehran has largely closed during the war, now in its fourth week. The disruption has triggered a sharp rise in global oil prices, prompting Japan and other countries to draw on their strategic reserves in an effort to stabilise supply and ease market pressures.

U.S. President Donald Trump met Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Thursday, urging her to "step up" as he presses allies - so far unsuccessfully - to ⁠to help open the strait.

PM Takaichi told reporters after the Washington summit that she had briefed Trump on what support Japan could and could not provide in the strait under its laws.

Source: Reuters



PUKMEDIA