Japan’s Takaichi seeks urgent summit with Iran as Trump’s Hormuz deadline looms

The Japanese government is arranging summit talks with Iran, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Monday, with tensions mounting in the Middle East as US President Donald Trump’s deadline for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz approaches. “We are preparing dialogues at the leadership level at an appropriate time,” Takaichi told a parliamentary committee when asked by an opposition lawmaker about Japan’s diplomatic efforts regarding the US-Israeli war with Iran. “Japan will make every effort possible to restore peace,” said Takaichi, without mentioning the name of the Iranian leader she is considering holding talks with. Japan has been bearing the brunt of the Middle East conflict, as the resource-poor nation relies on the region for over 90 per cent of its crude oil imports. Most of them transit the Strait of Hormuz, a key artery for global energy shipments that Iran has effectively closed, fuelling oil supply concerns and sending prices higher. Trump has extended his pause on threatened attacks on Iran’s energy infrastructure, pushing back the deadline for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz from Monday to Tuesday. In an interview on Sunday with The Wall Street Journal, the president was quoted as saying, “If they don’t come through, if they want to keep it closed, they’re going to lose every power plant and every other plant they have in the whole country.” He also posted on social media platform without providing an explanation: “Tuesday, 8:00 P.M. Eastern Time!” Japan, a close US ally yet known for its traditionally maintained amicable ties with Iran, has condemned Tehran’s de facto blockade of the strait, as well as its attacks on other Middle Eastern states in response to the US-Israeli strikes. Takaichi’s government has made no legal assessment of the Israeli-US military operations against Iran. Approval down The approval rate for Takaichi’s cabinet has fallen 0.3 percentage point from the March survey to 63.8 per cent, with nearly half of the respondents indicating discontent with her handling of disruptions to the supply of oil, a Kyodo News poll showed on Sunday. In the two-day telephone survey conducted from Saturday, 49.3 per cent say the prime minister’s response to the oil supply shortage stemming from the Iran war is not sufficient, while 41.4 per cent believe it is sufficient. The Cabinet’s disapproval rate rose 2.0 points to 26.0 per cent. Amid the global oil crisis, Japan has started tapping about 80 million barrels of oil, equivalent to about 45 days’ worth of domestic consumption. It is also considering the possibility of an additional release in May. Takaichi expressed her support for a possible additional joint oil stockpile release by the 32-member International Energy Agency in a meeting with its executive director, Fatih Birol, in March. Still, the poll shows 89.5 per cent, up 4.1 points, are concerned over the impact of the Middle East conflict on their daily life and 69.6 per cent want the government to continue providing subsidies to bring down petrol prices. The average retail price of petrol in Japan soared to a record 190.80 yen (US$1.20) per litre in mid-March, before it recently fell to around 170 yen, around the government target, as subsidies began. The industry minister said the government was considering steps to curb demand for oil, with Takaichi indicating the public could be asked to reduce petrol consumption. Regarding US-Israeli strikes on Iran, 80.3 per cent think it was the wrong decision, while 50.1 per cent support the Japanese government’s position of being silent on the assessment of the Iran war, as opposed to no support at 42.2 per cent. Some 30 per cent say the constitution should be amended to allow Japan to dispatch its Self-Defence Forces to the Strait of Hormuz, the primary global energy chokepoint during the conflict, while 64.4 per cent say such an amendment is not necessary. Among political parties, the support rate for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party rose 2.6 points to 40.3 per cent, while that for its junior coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, fell to 6.5 per cent, down 0.7 points. The Centrist Reform Alliance, the main opposition force, garnered support from 6.1 per cent, down from 6.3 per cent. A total of 514 randomly selected households with eligible voters and 3,494 mobile phone numbers were called for the survey, yielding responses from 423 household members and 624 mobile phone users.

Japan’s Takaichi seeks urgent summit with Iran as Trump’s Hormuz deadline looms

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Japan has been bearing the brunt of the Iran war as the resource-poor nation relies on the Middle East for most of its crude oil imports

Japan has been bearing the brunt of the Iran war as the resource-poor nation relies on the Middle East for most of its crude oil imports