LAW CONSTRAINTS: The US has been pressing allies to send warships to open the Strait, but Tokyo’s military actions are limited under its postwar pacifist constitution
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Reuters and AFP, TOKYO
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Japan could consider deploying its military for minesweeping in the Strait of Hormuz if a ceasefire is reached in the war on Iran, Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Toshimitsu Motegi said yesterday.
“If there were to be a complete ceasefire, hypothetically speaking, then things like minesweeping could come up,” Motegi said. “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 actions are limited under its postwar pacifist constitution, but 2015 security legislation allows Tokyo 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.
Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Toshimitsu Motegi speaks during the 28th ASEAN Plus Three Summit in Kuala Lumpur on Oct. 27 last year.
Photo: Pool via Reuters
Tokyo has no immediate plans to seek arrangements to allow passage through the Strait of Hormuz for stranded Japanese vessels, Motegi said, adding that it was “extremely important” to create conditions that allow all ships to navigate through the narrow waterway, the conduit for one-fifth of the world’s oil shipments.
Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi told Japan’s Kyodo News Agency on Friday that he had spoken to Motegi about potentially letting Japanese-related vessels pass through the Strait.
US President Donald Trump met Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Thursday, urging her to “step up” as he presses allies — so far unsuccessfully — to send warships to help open the Strait.
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.
In other news, Motegi said one of two Japanese nationals detained in Iran has been released.
The person, who has not been publicly identified, was released on Wednesday and would be returning to Japan, he said.
The individual had been taken into custody in Iran in June, Japanese media said.
Iran released the person after deciding their jail term was over, Jiji Press reported.
The development came after he made “strong calls” to Araghchi to release the detainees, Motegi said, adding that the other Japanese national remained in detention.
In January, Iran arrested the Tehran bureau chief of Japanese public broadcaster NHK and sent him to a prison known for holding political inmates, according to news reports.
Motegi declined to confirm whether the second person is the NHK journalist.
