Asahi, Yomiuri, and Sankei ran reports saying the GOJ may possibly conduct a feasibility study on actions Japan may be able to take in response to the United States’ idea to form a coalition of the willing to ensure security in the Strait of Hormuz. Asahi wrote that General Koji Yamazaki, the chief of the SDF’s Joint Staff, told the press on Thursday that Japan and the United States are communicating on a range of matters. Yomiuri quoted the SDF chief as saying that the Strait of Hormuz is a vitally important region for energy security and that Japan is closely watching developments by exchanging information with relevant nations.

The papers wrote that if Japan receives a request for the dispatch of the SDF to the Strait of Hormuz, it will have to carefully examine the legal basis for such a dispatch and the risks it might entail. The papers speculated that the government might have to enact a special measures law to allow the dispatch of the SDF to the region if existing laws are not sufficient.