US-Israel-Iran War: Japan’s Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi has reportedly signaled deploying its Self-Defense Forces (SDF) for minesweeping operations in the Strait of Hormuz only if a ceasefire is reached in the war involving the United States, Israel and Iran.
Japan’s military actions are limited under its postwar pacifist constitution, but 2015 security legislation allows Japan to use its Self-Defense Forces overseas if an attack, including on a close security partner, threatens Japan’s survival and no other means are available to address it.
Tokyo has no immediate plans to seek Hormuz passage
“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.”
Tokyo has no immediate plans to seek arrangements to allow passage through the Strait of Hormuz for stranded Japanese vessels, Motegi said, adding it was “extremely important” to create conditions that allow all ships to navigate through the narrow waterway, the conduit for a fifth of the world’s oil shipments.
Japan gets around 90% of its oil shipments via Hormuz
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 per cent of its oil shipments via the strait, which Tehran has largely closed during the war, now in its fourth week. A spike in global oil prices has prompted Japan and other countries to release oil from their reserves..
Iran calls Trump’s threat over Hormuz as ‘trapped in a pattern of self-entrapment’
Embassy of Iran in Tokyo slammed Trump’s threat to Iran over the Strait of Hormuz. In a post on X, the Embassy said, “Trapped in a pattern of self-entrapment, consistently undermined by his own rhetoric. What he suggests constitute a grave and highly consequential escalation, as well as a clear manifestation of intent to commit war crimes. Through his impulsive desperation, he is forcing others to endure the expansive fallout of his actions.”
Those who have dodged stopping him thus far should not approach Iran to request de-escalation. Any party threatened with criminal aggression will not hesitate to exercise its legitimate right to self-defense, it further added.
Iranian strikes hit Southern Israel
The Israeli military said on Sunday that it is conducting strikes in Tehran, hours after attacks on southern Israel, Reuters reported.
Late on Saturday, Iranian missiles hit the southern Israeli cities of Dimona and Arad, injuring dozens of people, including children, in separate strikes. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said in a statement early Sunday that they targeted “military installations” and security centers in southern Israel.
(With inputs from Reuters)
