Trump’s Hormuz request forces a hard look at Japan’s pacifist identity

Higher legal threshold

Past Japanese operations in and around the Middle East offer Takaichi a guide, and underscore how Tokyo has kept within its legal limits. During the 1991 Gulf War, Japan contributed money rather than personnel, a decision criticised by the US and other nations as 'chequebook diplomacy'.

After hostilities ended, it despatched minesweepers to the Persian Gulf, marking the SDF's first ever overseas deployment.

"Japan's poor response during the Gulf War remains a scar in the national consciousness. So I suspect her (Takaichi's) government is looking hard for some way to show the flag," said Michael Green, a professor and chief executive of The United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney.

After the September 11 attacks in 2001, Japan sent MSDF vessels to the Indian Ocean to refuel and support US-led operations in Afghanistan. That mission ran for eight years but did not involve combat or escort missions.