The Cabinet’s recent decision to reinterpret the pacifist Constitution means that Japan would be allowed to engage in a minesweeping operation in the Strait of Hormuz even without a cease-fire in place, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told a special Diet session July 14.
Abe’s remarks indicate that Maritime Self-Defense Force ships could conduct minesweeping to support an ally should another country attempt to close the Strait of Hormuz ― through which about 80 percent of crude oil exports to Japan pass. (Kyodo)
安倍晋三首相は7月14日、集団的自衛権を行使できる例として、中東のホルムズ海峡で機雷が敷設された場合を挙げ、掃海作業に従事することが認められると発言した。
The Japan Times ST: July 25, 2014