Japan Seeking US Oil Sanctions Exemption

Japanese energy supply should not be affected by US sanctions on Iran, Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Hiroshige Seko said in a news conference on Tuesday. During the second round of talks in Washington over August 1-2, "the Japanese side insisted on the basic principle that the US sanctions should not affect energy supply or have a negative impact on Japanese corporate activities", Seko told the news conference in Tokyo, S&P Global Platts reported. Seko's comments came as Japan is seeking an early exemption from the US on its sanctions against Iran as among its highest priorities for the country's energy security as well as local refiners' need for Iranian oil. Ryo Minami, the director general of oil, gas and mineral resources at METI, said in an interview that it was a firm principle on the part of the government to obtain an exemption. Minami also said Japan should be exempt from the US sanctions because of the country's reduction of Iranian oil imports in recent years.