Japan to Mull Sending SDF Minesweepers Depending on Situation

Tokyo, March 25 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Wednesday that her government will in the future examine the possibility of dispatching the Self-Defense Forces to the Strait of Hormuz for a minesweeping mission while analyzing the situation of the time.

Whether to dispatch SDF minesweepers "has to be decided depending on the situation at that time and based on law," Takaichi told a House of Councillors Budget Committee meeting.

The SDF would be able to conduct the mission under the SDF law if the mines are abandoned, but removing mines during fighting would not be possible as this would be taken as "combat action against the country that laid them," the prime minister continued.

Observing that the situation in Iran is changing every moment, she noted that "it's too early to say at this point" whether Japan would deploy the SDF.

In this regard, Takaichi denied a U.S. claim that she pledged to provide SDF assistance in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's request for Japan's contribution to securing freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz during their talks in Washington last week.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]