Regarding the incident in which a tanker was hijacked by armed groups in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Yemen in the Middle East, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno explained that the vigilance and surveillance activities conducted by the Maritime Self-Defense Force at the scene were based on anti-piracy laws.
While Yemeni rebels and the Houthis have declared that they will target ships with ties to Israel, an incident occurred in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Yemen on the 26th of this month, Japan time, when a tanker was hijacked by an armed group believed to be Somali, and the Maritime Self-Defense Force's escort ships and patrol aircraft that were dealing with piracy in the surrounding waters were also on surveillance.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno explained at a press conference in the afternoon, "We have received reports that vigilance monitoring and information gathering have been carried out because we have determined that there is a reasonable suspicion that it constitutes piracy under the Anti-Piracy Act in light of the response to the act of attacking a vessel using a small boat."
On the other hand, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno responded to a question from a reporter about whether the Houthis do not fall under the category of a "quasi-national organization" that restricts the use of weapons by the Self-Defense Forces, saying, "The government has not made a decision, but generally speaking, if there is a reasonable suspicion that it constitutes piracy, it can be dealt with by using weapons."