JAPAN PERSPECTIVE

The Japan Times headlines 'new perils' the downed jets create for Trump, but a second article reveals Japan's real angle: the government hesitates to ask the public to reduce energy consumption as the war drags on. Tokyo reads the shot-down aircraft not as an isolated military fact but as a signal the conflict won't end quickly—and Japan must prepare for prolonged energy crisis. Japan Chamber of Commerce president Ken Kobayashi admits the 'government will inevitably have to think about how long people must hold on.' Prime Minister Takaichi declared no options excluded, including asking the public to reduce gasoline consumption. Japan imports nearly all its energy from the Middle East, and 44 Japanese vessels remained blocked in the Persian Gulf. The cautious tone—'the government is cautious about requesting energy conservation'—is typically Japanese: don't create panic, prepare the ground for unpopular measures.