Japan's dependence on oil imports from the Middle East has made this country acutely sensitive to instability in that region. Constrained by the Constitution, the primary form of state engagement with those countries has been diplomatic. There is a growing sense, however, that Tokyo must rethink that policy and consider new types of activity to secure the national interest. Its decision to weigh dispatching the Maritime Self-Defense Force to that area is part of that reassessment.
The exact nature of that mission remains uncertain, however; if the ships take on security-oriented tasks, rather than information gathering as is their presumed assignment, then the government must prepare the public for the consequences.
Japan's reliance on Middle East energy supplies is well known. This country gets nearly 90 percent of its oil imports from the region. Last year, 500 Japanese tankers, more than one a day, passed through the Strait of Hormuz.