U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper has urged Japan to consider taking part in a coalition to protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz as Washington struggles to garner support for its efforts to counter Iranian activities in the strategically key sea lane."Any and every country that has an interest in freedom of navigation and freedom of commerce needs to really consider (being) involved in this type of monitoring of the strait," he told reporters Tuesday en route to Tokyo where he was meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya."I think it's something …READ FULL ARTICLE
