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

Reports say Iran has blocked the Strait of Hormuz. For Japan as well, the strait is a vital chokepoint for energy imports. In the past, the Japanese government had cited the idea of “minelaying to blockade the strait” as a hypothetical example of a “situation of existential crisis” in which collective self-defense could be exercised. However, this time it will carefully assess the situation.

Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said at a press conference on March 2: “At this stage, we have not yet determined that this constitutes a major-impact situation and a situation of existential crisis under laws related to security and defense.”

A situation of existential crisis is a concept defined in the security-related laws passed in 2015 during the Shinzo Abe administration.

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Nikkei Inc. and the Financial Times merged into the same media group in November 2015. Under the banner of “high-quality, the strongest economics journalism,” the alliance formed by two newspapers—one in Japan and one in the United Kingdom—has been moving forward with cooperation across a wide range of areas, including joint special features. This time, as one part of that effort, the two newspapers have enabled article exchanges between their Chinese-language websites.