A Japanese warship left its port near Tokyo on Sunday on a mission to protect merchant ships and oil tankers passing through the Gulf of Oman that supply 90% of Japan’s oil amid tension in the Middle East.
"Thousands of Japanese ships ply those waters every year including vessels carrying nine tenths of our oil. It is Japan's lifeline," Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told the crew at Yokosuka naval base near Tokyo, before they cast off.
There were up to 500 family members and representatives from the US, European nations and Middle East present at the event.
Abe's government has said it is prepared to authorize force to protect ships in danger, a controversial decision because Japan's war-renouncing constitution forbids the use of military force in international disputes, Reuters reported.
Tension in the Middle East has heightened as ties between Iran and the US got more strained following Washington's decision to pull the US out of a 2015 international nuclear deal with Iran and re-impose sanctions on it.
The US has also blamed Tehran for several attacks on international merchant vessels, including a Japanese-owned tanker, the Kokuka Courageous. Iran, however, denies the accusation.
The Takanami, which will be joined by two maritime patrol planes will operate independently. It will patrol the northern Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden, but will not enter the Strait of Hormuz.
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