Breaking News: Japan has formally refused Trump's request and will not send warships to the Strait of Hormuz. Japanese Prime Minister Hayashi Asako said that Japan will decide subsequent actions based on legal frameworks. Despite being the world's third-largest economy, 70% of Japan's oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz, but Tokyo has rejected this decision citing constitutional restrictions. Just 24 hours earlier, the UK, Germany, France, and Australia had also officially stated their refusal, leading to isolation for the U.S. attempt to form a joint escort mission in the Strait of Hormuz.
Comment: Japan's refusal to send troops is superficially due to constitutional and legal restrictions, but it is actually a highly pragmatic calculation of interests: with 70% of its oil dependent on the Strait of Hormuz, aligning with the U.S. and military intervention would directly make it a target for Iranian retaliation, neither ensuring the safety of the oil route nor avoiding self-harm; it does not want to be a pawn in the U.S. geopolitical game, nor wants to gamble on national energy security, so it uses the "legal framework" as a shield.
Japan's formal refusal to deploy ships, combined with the UK, Germany, France, and Australia subsequently stating their unwillingness to participate, marks the complete failure of the U.S. plan to establish an escort alliance in the Strait of Hormuz, resulting in isolation. Even under strong U.S. pressure, countries have prioritized legal, security, and diplomatic rationality, unwilling to be tied to the U.S. confrontation with Iran, and bearing the risk of military conflict. This series of refusals completely expose the illusion of the American-style alliance "a call and a hundred responses," and indicate that unilateral coercion and military confrontation are unpopular, and the U.S. wants its allies to pay for its geopolitical strategy and share the risks, now no one is willing to cooperate.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1859805641936970/
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