Hormuz crisis forcing Japan to domesticate its energy security

Japan’s Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu phoned his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, on September 8, 2026, to express concern over the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz. It was reportedly the ninth such phone call between the pair since March.

Tokyo’s urgency over the crucial waterway is understandable. While the economic ripples over the Strait of Hormuz crisis has been felt across the world, Japan is one of the countries feeling the pain most acutely. Prior to the US and Israeli strikes on Iran – and Tehran’s retaliation and closure of the strait – Hormuz carried 93% of Japan’s crude imports; the Middle East as a whole supplied 94% of the nation’s oil.

Stockpiles and domestic refining capacity have cushioned the shock, but the crisis has exposed a deeper vulnerability: Japan has long depended on a maritime security environment it does not control.

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