Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said on Sunday that if there is a ceasefire in the US-Israeli war over Iran, Japan may consider deploying its forces to destroy mines in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for global oil supplies.
“If, hypothetically speaking, there was a complete ceasefire, things like demining could happen,” Motegi said during a Fuji TV program. “It’s completely hypothetical, but if an armistice was established and naval mines were causing an obstruction, I think it would be something worth considering.”
Japan’s military actions are limited under its post-war pacifist constitution, but a 2015 security law allows Japan to use its self-defense forces overseas if an attack, including by a close security partner, threatens Japan’s existence and there are no other means available to address it.
Motegi said Tokyo had no immediate plans to make arrangements to allow stranded Japanese ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, adding that it was “extremely important” to create conditions that allow all ships to navigate through the narrow waterway, which is the conduit for a fifth of the world’s oil shipments.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told Japan’s Kyodo news agency on Friday that he had talked to Motegi about potentially allowing Japanese-linked ships to pass through the strait.
Japan gets about 90% of its oil shipments through the strait, which Tehran has largely closed during the war, now in its fourth week. Rising global oil prices have prompted Japan and other countries to run out of their reserves.
US President Donald Trump met with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takachi on Thursday, urging him to “step up” as he pressures allies – so far unsuccessfully – to help open the strait.
He told reporters after the Washington summit that he had explained to Trump what assistance Japan could and could not provide in the strait under its laws.
