Japan may consider cutting oil imports

Japan may consider cutting crude oil imports from Iran as pressure builds from the US to impose sanctions on the Islamic Republic over its nuclear programme, an official told Reuters yesterday.
Last week Japan approved new sanctions against Iran in line with a UN Security Council resolution in June, including adding 40 companies and an individual to a blacklist targeted for a freezing of assets.

US officials urged Japan to adopt stronger sanctions in line with the European Union, which they claimed would not impact Japan’s oil imports from Iran.

“I think that the new sanction measures that Japan is looking to apply will impact oil imports even if it’s indirect,” said Yoichi Yamamoto, representative in Tehran for Japan’s External Trade Organisation (Jerto), a government-related body that works to promote mutual trade and investment between Japan and the rest of the world.

“By the end of this month the Japanese government will decide what to do,” he told Reuters in an interview.

In 2009, Iran exported about 421,000 bpd of crude to Japan.

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