Does the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz constitute a "life-and-death crisis" for Japan?

It has been reported that Iran has blockaded the Strait of Hormuz. The strait is also a key chokepoint for energy imports to Japan. In the past, the Japanese government had cited a “mine blockade of the strait” as a conceivable example of a “grave threat situation” in which the right of collective self-defense could be exercised. However, this time Japan will carefully assess the situation.

At a press conference on March 2, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said: “At this stage, we have not yet determined that this constitutes a significant impact situation and a grave threat situation under the laws related to security and defense.”

A grave threat situation is a concept defined in security-related laws passed in 2015 during the administration of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

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The Nihon Keizai Shimbun and the Financial Times merged into the same media group in November 2015. Formed as an alliance between two newspaper companies that were both founded in the 19th century as well, Japan’s and the United Kingdom’s firms are moving forward with cooperation across a wide range of areas, under the banner of “high-quality, the strongest economic journalism.” This time, as part of that effort, an exchange of articles has been implemented between the Chinese websites of the two newspapers.