Japan will not send warships to Hormuz, PM responds to Trump

Tokyo — Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told parliament on Monday that Japan cannot send Self-Defence Force vessels to the Middle East region.

The Prime Minister’s statement was in response to a call from US President Donald Trump for the deployment of warships to the Strait of Hormuz.

“No decision has been made. We continue to consider what Japan can do independently. Sending Self-Defence Force personnel to protect ships is something that is impossible,” Takaichi stated.

On Sunday, Trump called upon Japan, China, France, South Korea, the United Kingdom and several other nations to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz to restore traffic through the strait.

Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi confirmed during parliamentary debate that the government is not considering such action.

On 28 February, the United States and Israel launched strikes against targets in Iran, including Tehran, causing damage and civilian casualties. Iran responded by attacking Israeli territory and US military facilities throughout the Middle East.

The US and Israel initially justified the strikes as “preventive” actions against what they claimed were threats emanating from Iran’s nuclear programme, but later acknowledged that they sought to encourage regime change in Iran.