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Japan Weighs Talks with Iran Amid Middle East Tensions
(MENAFN) Japan is weighing direct engagement with Iranian leadership as Tokyo navigates mounting pressure from a Middle East conflict that has severed a critical energy lifeline for the world's third-largest economy, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi indicated Monday.
Speaking before a session of the House of Representatives' Budget Committee, Takaichi stopped short of committing to a timeline but signaled that high-level diplomacy with Tehran remained firmly on the table.
"I will judge the appropriate timing for holding talks based on the national interest from a comprehensive standpoint," Takaichi told the committee, media reported.
The remarks reflect the tightrope Tokyo has been walking since the Middle East conflict erupted — straining to preserve its longstanding security alliance with Washington while safeguarding traditionally cordial ties with Tehran, as cascading disruptions continue to batter global supply chains.
The stakes for Japan are acutely high. The country draws more than 90% of its crude oil imports from the Middle East, with the vast majority transiting the Strait of Hormuz — a vital global energy corridor that Iran has effectively shut down. The closure has sent shockwaves through Japanese energy markets and prompted urgent contingency planning in Tokyo.
While Japan has publicly condemned Iran's de facto blockade of the strait and its retaliatory strikes against neighboring Middle Eastern states — launched in response to US-Israeli military operations against Tehran — Tokyo has deliberately refrained from making any formal legal assessment of the American offensive against Iran.
Amid the supply crunch, a measure of relief arrived Monday when the first Middle East oil shipment since the conflict's outbreak reached a refinery in western Japan. The tanker, carrying approximately 100,000 kiloliters of Saudi Arabian crude, completed its voyage via the Red Sea, circumventing the blockaded Strait of Hormuz entirely.
Speaking before a session of the House of Representatives' Budget Committee, Takaichi stopped short of committing to a timeline but signaled that high-level diplomacy with Tehran remained firmly on the table.
"I will judge the appropriate timing for holding talks based on the national interest from a comprehensive standpoint," Takaichi told the committee, media reported.
The remarks reflect the tightrope Tokyo has been walking since the Middle East conflict erupted — straining to preserve its longstanding security alliance with Washington while safeguarding traditionally cordial ties with Tehran, as cascading disruptions continue to batter global supply chains.
The stakes for Japan are acutely high. The country draws more than 90% of its crude oil imports from the Middle East, with the vast majority transiting the Strait of Hormuz — a vital global energy corridor that Iran has effectively shut down. The closure has sent shockwaves through Japanese energy markets and prompted urgent contingency planning in Tokyo.
While Japan has publicly condemned Iran's de facto blockade of the strait and its retaliatory strikes against neighboring Middle Eastern states — launched in response to US-Israeli military operations against Tehran — Tokyo has deliberately refrained from making any formal legal assessment of the American offensive against Iran.
Amid the supply crunch, a measure of relief arrived Monday when the first Middle East oil shipment since the conflict's outbreak reached a refinery in western Japan. The tanker, carrying approximately 100,000 kiloliters of Saudi Arabian crude, completed its voyage via the Red Sea, circumventing the blockaded Strait of Hormuz entirely.
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