The government of Japan says it is not currently considering deploying naval forces to protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, despite calls from Donald Trump for allied nations to support maritime security operations in the region.
Japan’s Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi told parliament on Monday that Tokyo had no immediate plans to issue an order for maritime security operations in response to the ongoing tensions involving Iran.
“In the current Iran situation, we are not at the moment considering issuing a maritime security operation,” Koizumi said.
Trump had earlier called on several countries, including Japan, to help safeguard oil tankers travelling through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important energy shipping routes.
The U.S. president also said the United States Navy would soon begin escorting oil tankers through the strategic waterway amid rising tensions in the Middle East.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said she had not received any direct request from Trump regarding the deployment of Japanese forces.
She added that any decision to send ships would depend on Japan’s legal framework and national interests.
“The question is what Japan should do on our own initiative and what is possible within our legal framework, rather than what is requested by the United States,” Takaichi said.
Deploying Japan’s Japan Self-Defense Forces abroad remains politically sensitive due to the country’s pacifist constitution adopted in 1947, which limits military activities overseas.
Senior lawmaker Takayuki Kobayashi of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party also noted that the threshold for sending warships to the region is “extremely high.”
Japan is heavily dependent on Middle Eastern oil imports.
As the world’s fourth-largest economy, about 95% of its oil imports come from the Middle East, with roughly 70% passing through the Strait of Hormuz, highlighting the strategic importance of the shipping lane for the country’s energy security.
