Trump's call for escort in Strait of Hormuz puts Japanese PM Takaichi in dilemma

Iran Herald · March 17, 2026 Politics

TOKYO, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Japan has no plan to dispatch naval vessels for escort missions in the Middle East, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Monday, after U. S. President Donald Trump demanded in a social media post that nations, including Japan, deploy warships to the Strait of Hormuz to keep the vital oil shipping route "open and safe.