The Japanese government is asking the United States to exempt Japan from restrictions on Iranian crude oil imports, following demands by Washington that countries cease such imports when the United States resumes sanctions against Tehran.
"We're carefully examining the impact of the U.S. measure [targeting Iran]," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said during a press conference on Wednesday. "We'll hold discussions with the United States and other relevant countries so that the move does not adversely affect Japanese companies."
In 2017, Japan imported about 10 million kiloliters of crude oil from Iran, which is the sixth-largest supplier for Japan. The figure accounted for about 5 percent of Japan's crude oil imports.
The percentage stood at about 9 percent before the United States imposed sanctions on Iran in 2011 under the administration of then President Barack Obama.
Japan has traditionally considered Iran to be an important supplier of crude oil and has maintained relatively friendly bilateral relations with the country, even when Tehran has clashed with Western nations over Middle East issues.
Iran is believed to hold the word's fourth-largest crude oil reserves, following Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and Canada.
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