Hormuz Closure ‘Inflicting Enormous Impact’ On Asia: Japan’s PM Takaichi

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz is “inflicting enormous impact” on the Asia-Pacific region, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Monday in somewhat dramatic remarks before the press.

Takaichi’s words were issued from Canberra, on the occasion of Japan having signed agreements with Australia on critical minerals, energy security, and defense cooperation amid high-level talks with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Albanese in turn endorsed her assessment, stating: “Today, (we are) again facing an energy shock and global instability… Our partnership helps us secure the energy we both need.”

Takaichi also said in reference to the Strait of Hormuz, “We affirmed that Japan and Australia will closely communicate with each other in responding with a sense of urgency.”

According to more:

Australia provides approximately one-third of Japan’s energy supplies and is the country’s largest market for liquefied natural gas. Both Canberra and Tokyo have been trying to shore up energy supplies due to the Iran war.

“Like Japan, we are very concerned by disruptions to the supply of liquid fuels and refined petroleum products,“ Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.

“In a complex strategic environment, cooperation between Australia and Japan is essential to maintaining a peaceful, stable and prosperous region,” Albanese additionally said. “Enhanced defense and security cooperation between Australia and Japan increases interoperability between our defense forces, ensuring Australia and Japan can work closely together to support regional peace and security.”

Tokyo and Canberra finalized a $7 billion defense agreement just last month, and a central part of this involves Japan supplying Australia with 11 warships.

China has also suffered negative impact of its Iranian oil flows being blocked; however, Beijing is arguably in a better position to weather the storm when compared to the impact to US allies in the region.

One recent op-ed in The American Conservative argued that “While China is to some extent dependent on Gulf oil, so is the rest of Asia. While the United States might be insulated from some of the worst consequences of the Hormuz closure, the economies of our Asian allies are not.”

Japan’s PM Sanae Takaichi has told Australian reporters in Canberra that the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz is ’inflicting an ‘enormous impact’ on Asia Pacific.

She said both countries are coordinating to alleviate the crisis. pic.twitter.com/YudZXmifOe

— Al Jazeera Breaking News (@AJENews) May 4, 2026

It continued, “Asian economies are among the most dependent on Middle Eastern oil, with South Korea receiving around 70 percent and Japan receiving a whopping 95 percent of their oil from the Middle East,” and observed that “The Council on Foreign Relations notes that in 2024, 84 percent of the oil and 83 percent of LNG shipped through Hormuz were bound for Asia.” The analysis concluded: “That is not a targeted squeeze. Instead, such a move looks to be made without much heed to Asia at all, hitting the very states Washington is supposedly positioning against Beijing.”