Tehran offers Tokyo a Hormuz passage

Iran has signalled that Japanese-linked vessels could be allowed through the Strait of Hormuz, opening a narrow diplomatic channel for one of Asia’s biggest energy importers as the waterway remains severely disrupted by the war involving Iran, the United States and Israel. Kyodo reported on Saturday that Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran was prepared to support the transit of Japan-related ships after consultations between officials from the two countries.

The offer matters far beyond Tokyo. Japan gets about 90% of its oil shipments through Hormuz and relies on the Middle East for roughly 95% of its oil supplies, making the strait a direct test of its energy security and of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s ability to shield the economy from a conflict that has already rattled fuel markets. Reuters reported that Japan has begun releasing about 80 million barrels from strategic reserves as part of the International Energy Agency’s co-ordinated response to supply disruption, while the IEA has approved a record 400 million-barrel collective release by member states.

Araghchi’s message, as reported by Kyodo and carried by Reuters, suggests Tehran is drawing a distinction between countries it considers hostile and those it still sees as possible interlocutors. That distinction has been visible elsewhere. Reuters reported on Thursday that two LPG tankers linked to refiners in India were preparing to sail through Hormuz after a pause in voyages, and that other countries appeared able to negotiate limited passage even as crude tanker traffic all but stopped. Tehran is therefore not presenting a straightforward reopening of the strait, but a selective access regime shaped by politics, wartime leverage and bilateral ties.

Tokyo has been careful not to overstate what this opening means. Japan’s foreign ministry said on March 17 that Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told Araghchi he was gravely concerned by the continuing exchange of attacks, urged Iran to stop actions threatening navigation in Hormuz, and requested measures to ensure the safety of vessels linked to Japan and other Asian countries. The ministry also said Motegi raised concern over Japanese-related vessels detained in the Persian Gulf and pressed for the early release of two Japanese nationals held in Iran. That official account indicates Japan is treating the issue as both an energy emergency and a consular one.

Japan’s difficulty is that it needs the strait open but has little political room for a combat role. Takaichi told reporters after her Washington summit with President Donald Trump that she had explained what Japan could and could not do under its laws. Reuters has reported that Trump has pressed allies to send warships to help reopen the waterway, while Tokyo remains constrained by its post-war pacifist framework even though 2015 security legislation allows limited overseas force under tightly drawn conditions. That leaves diplomacy, intelligence support and market-stabilisation measures as Japan’s main instruments.

The broader international response shows why Tehran’s overture to Japan is being watched closely. A joint statement issued on March 19 by Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Japan, later joined by other countries, said the signatories were ready to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the strait and would take steps to stabilise energy markets. The statement condemned attacks on commercial shipping and civilian energy infrastructure and backed the IEA reserve release. Japan is therefore moving on two tracks at once: joining a wider coalition for maritime security while keeping a direct channel open to Tehran.

That balancing act reflects the unusual place Japan occupies in the crisis. Araghchi, a former ambassador to Japan, told Kyodo that Tehran regarded relations with Tokyo as friendly and hoped Japan could help end what he described as an unjustifiable invasion of Iran. For Tehran, offering passage to Japanese-linked vessels carries strategic logic. It can relieve pressure from a major Asian customer, test whether selective transit reduces calls for a broader naval coalition, and show that Iran still retains control over the pace and terms of any reopening. For Tokyo, the immediate value is practical rather than symbolic: securing tanker movements, easing pressure on refiners and avoiding a deeper shock to households and industry.