Takaichi seeks calls with Pezeshkian, Trump
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- Sanae Takaichi said on April 7 in Parliament that she is seeking phone calls with both Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and US President Donald Trump, declaring: "We must communicate with both the US side as well as the Iran side."
- Toshimitsu Motegi spoke with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on April 6, urging Iran to engage with international mediation efforts and reiterating the need to secure vessels still in the Strait of Hormuz, according to the Foreign Ministry.
- Motegi also held a call with Pakistani Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar on the evening of April 6, broadening Tokyo's diplomatic outreach as tensions escalate.
- A Japanese national detained by Iranian authorities was released on bail, though the person remains unable to leave Iran but is safe in Tehran, according to Kyodo news citing an unnamed Japanese government official on April 7.
- Donald Trump threatened to bomb key infrastructure in Iran as soon as April 7 unless the Strait of Hormuz is reopened, and publicly rebuked Japan, Australia, South Korea, and NATO for failing to help secure the waterway.
- Japan is balancing its long-standing energy dependence on Middle Eastern countries against its commitment to the United States as its most important security ally, according to the report.
Why it matters: Japan is caught between its top security ally pressing for action on the Strait of Hormuz and its energy dependence on the Middle East. Takaichi's parallel outreach to Trump and Pezeshkian — including Motegi's separate calls to Iran and Pakistan — shows Tokyo scrambling for a diplomatic off-ramp before Trump's April 7 deadline to strike Iranian infrastructure expires, while still trying to protect its shipping interests in the strait.
