Japan to cut Iran oil imports by at least 11%

TOKYO - Japan is in the final stage of negotiations with the United States on Washington-led sanctions against Iran, government officials said Thursday.

Japan is seeking to win an exemption from the United States on condition that Tokyo promises to cut its crude oil imports from Iran by at least 11 percent, according to Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura.

The two countries could reach agreement on the exemption by the end of this month, Fujimura said, adding that Tokyo has presented to Washington several different possibilities for its oil imports from Iran in the years ahead.

Under the sanctions, a new US law bans foreign financial institutions found to have done business with Iran's central bank, which clears oil transactions, from operating in the United States.

But the United States could grant a country waiver from the ban if it has "significantly reduced its volume of crude oil purchases from Iran," according to the law.

"Officials are negotiating very hard to get the exemption as soon as by the end of Feburary," Fujimura told a news conference.

Japan said that it is prepared to either maintain or exceed the levels of reduction achieved to date, according to the officials. But some US senators have said that a significant cut means at least 18 percent.

Japan now imports about 10 percent of its oil from Iran.