Takaichi says no current plan to deploy SDF for Hormuz escort mission
Tokyo is not currently planning to deploy Self-Defense Force ships to escort vessels in the Middle East, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told parliament on Monday, after U.S. President Donald Trump called for Japan and others to send warships to help secure the Strait of Hormuz.“No decision has been made whatsoever regarding the dispatch of escort vessels,” Takaichi told an Upper House Budget Committee meeting. “We are currently examining what Japan can do independently and what is possible within the legal framework.”Over the weekend, Trump called for Japan and others to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz to help secure the safe passage of commercial vessels, a move that has heaped pressure on Takaichi just days before she visits Washington for high-profile talks with the U.S. president.
