The Japanese government is allowing the country's Self-Defense Forces to be used to clear mines in the Strait of Hormuz, which is said to have been mined by Iran.
Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi stressed that this option can only be considered if a ceasefire is established there.
“If the mines become an obstacle, then we will have to consider it“, he said on Fuji TV.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi previously stressed during a parliamentary debate that sending Japanese naval ships to the Strait of Hormuz would only be possible if a ceasefire is established there.
CBS News earlier reported that the US intelligence community had received information about mining of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran.
For his part, US President Donald Trump said that he did not have such information. He stressed that if such actions were confirmed, Tehran would face “unprecedented military consequences“.
French President Emmanuel Macron also denied the information at a press conference after the video conference of G-7 leaders.
Meanwhile, one of the two Japanese citizens detained in Iran has been released and will soon be able to return home, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi announced.
“We are working for the speedy release of our second citizen“, he said on local television. Motegi added that the Japanese citizen is currently in Azerbaijan and will soon return home. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he was detained in the summer of 2025, but the charges against him have not been disclosed.
According to local media, the other Japanese citizen detained in Iran is the head of the Tehran branch of Japanese public broadcaster NHK. He was reportedly detained on January 20, and the reasons for his detention have not been disclosed.