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Japan's Ruling Party Recommends Minesweeper Deployment to Strait of Hormuz
The Japanese government and ruling parties are assessing the feasibility of sending Maritime Self-Defense Force minesweepers to the Strait of Hormuz. This follows a request from U.S. President Donald Trump for assistance in securing oil shipment navigation. The study comes amid ongoing turmoil in Iran after the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
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Takayuki Kobayashi, chairman of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's Policy Research Council, presented the party's recommendations to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Friday in Tokyo, urging the government to consider sending minesweepers once fighting between the United States and Iran ends.
U.S. President Donald Trump's request for help to ensure safe navigation through the key chokepoint for oil shipments.
Kobayashi said that sending minesweepers is one option for securing Japan's national interests within legal constraints. Takaichi responded that her administration shares the same view as the party. U.S. President Donald Trump in March. In response to Trump's request at their March meeting, Takaichi said that there are things that Japan can and cannot do under its laws.
Under the Self-Defense Forces law, Japan can deploy minesweepers to clear mines left after fighting.
Japan sent minesweepers to the Persian Gulf in 1991 after the Gulf War. Turmoil has continued in Iran following the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. ' A Defense Ministry official said: 'We don't even know what types of mines have been laid in the strait.
Jp.
