Japanese Prime Minister Promises ‘Candid’ Conversation on Iran War in Coming Meeting With Trump

When Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, meets President Trump at the White House Thursday, she will be the first leader to see the president from any of the countries he is pleading with to send warships to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The conversation, judging from what she and her defense minister are saying, will not be easy, but she promises to be “candid” in saying what she thinks of the war.Americans might expect such cooperation, since 70 percent of Japan’s oil goes through that critical chokepoint, but her idea of “candid” is likely to be “ambiguous,” a Japanese Japanese academic talking anonymously, tells the Sun, as she tries to avoid any commitment that would risk armed conflict with Iran.Asked how she would respond to a request for arms, she told members of Japan’s parliament, or diet, that the question is “hypothetical.” But what if, when they meet, Mr. Trump bluntly asks her to send a destroyer or two to escort tankers through the strait?Japan’s defense minister, Shinjiro Koizumi, is making it clear that Japan will fall back on the wording of Article 9 of its post-war constitution that bans sending troops overseas to join in foreign wars. Ten years ago, however, Japan updated the no-war constitution with legislation authorizing Japan to engage in “collective self defense.” Japan’s Kyodo news agency notes that “sending personnel to areas where they could become embroiled in fighting remains controversial.” For Ms. Takaichi, the challenge will be to dodge the question.“As of now,” Mr. Koizumi said there’s no plan to send Japanese forces to the Middle East, the source of 90 percent of Japan’s crude oil. Japan has honored American sanctions by ceasing to import from Iran, but 70 percent of Japan’s oil — mostly from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — passes through the strait.Mr. Koizumi was just as circumspect in a phone conversation with the American Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth. It was “extremely important,” Kyuodo quoted him as saying, “for Japan and the international community to maintain peace and stability in the Middle East, including the Strait of Hormuz.” Mr. Hegseth reminded Mr. Koizumi of America’s defense commitment to Japan. No way, he said, would Washington compromise on the alliance, buttressed by about 55,000 American troops, including a division of marines and America’s most important air base in Asia in the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa. It was not clear, however, if they discussed a report that America might move 2,500 marines from Japan to the Middle East.Japan’s defense ministry responded with more evasions, promising to “communicate with related countries including the United States.” The double talk is just as pronounced in South Korea’s response to Mr. Trump’s call for armed assistance. Yonhap News reports that the presidential secretary for public affairs, Lee Kyu-yeon, said the issue “should be decided after sufficient discussions between South Korea and the U.S..” South Korea’s foreign minister, Cho Hyun, agreed that “peace in the Middle East and safe and free navigation in the Strait of Hormuz are crucial,” the biggest-selling South Korean newspaper, Chosun Ilbo, quoted him as saying.Communist China’s propaganda machine responded sarcastically to Mr. Trump naming China among the oil-importing nations that might help break the blockade. The English-language Global Times, an offshoot of the Communist Party newspaper People’s Daily, quoted “experts” warning “root cause of blockade lies in US-Israeli military operation.”

Japanese Prime Minister Promises ‘Candid’ Conversation on Iran War in Coming Meeting With Trump

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