Japan Isn’t Sending Minesweepers to Middle East, Takaichi Says

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(Bloomberg) — Japan’s pacifist constitution wouldn’t bar the country from helping with mine clearance around the Strait of Hormuz at the conclusion of the war between the US, Israel and Iran, but Tokyo has no plans to deploy minesweepers to the region, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said.

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Responding to questions in parliament on Thursday, Takaichi said that while details about the possible laying of sea mines by Iran around the Strait of Hormuz are unclear, in theory Japan wouldn’t be able to get involved in mine clearance as long as the conflict continues.

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That’s because doing so could be considered a use of military force against another country, which the constitution disallows unless Japan’s own existence is deemed under threat. If a war has been formally concluded, those mines might be considered abandoned, and could then be cleared without violating the constitution, she said.

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“It is extremely difficult in practice to predict at what specific point mines that were initially laid as part of an armed attack against another country would become abandoned mines,” Takaichi said.

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“In light of that uncertainty, it is not envisaged that, as a preparatory step for removing mines, Self-Defense Force assets would be deployed to nearby areas,” she said.

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Confusion surrounding Iran’s use of sea mines swirled on Wednesday. US President Donald Trump said he didn’t think Iran had laid mines, but Reuters reported that the Islamic Republic had placed about a dozen mines in the waterway, citing people familiar with the matter.

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The possibility of Japan helping with sea mine clearance has precedent.

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Japan deployed six minesweeper ships to the Persian Gulf in April 1991, more than a month after the US wrapped up its Desert Storm operations that concluded the Gulf War. The ships worked in the area until October clearing mines laid by Iraq, in what was Japan’s first overseas military deployment since World War II.

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While Japan has avoided taking a clear stance on the current conflict, it is heavily reliant on oil from the Middle East to power its economy. On Wednesday, Takaichi announced that Japan would release 80 million barrels of oil from its strategic reserves ahead of an agreement by the International Energy Agency to release a record 400 million barrels from emergency oil reserves.

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Takaichi’s comments in parliament come ahead of a visit to Washington, where she is scheduled to meet Trump on March 19. So far, Washington hasn’t asked for material support from Japan to aid its military efforts in Iran.

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“I would like to deepen our discussions toward calming the situation in the Middle East,” Takaichi said of her upcoming meeting with Trump.

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