Japan to slap extra sanctions on Iran

Okada says Tokyo will use the US and EU sanctions as a
reference when drafting its own set of anti-Iran sanctions



Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=137307§ionid=351020101


Japan plans to impose additional sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program, following similar moves by the US, the EU and some other states.

Japan voted in favor of a June 9 UN Security Council resolution to impose a fourth round of sanctions against Iran.

Following the UN measures, the United States, the European Union, Australia and Canada imposed unilateral sanctions against Iran, which mainly target the country's oil and gas industry.

The Cabinet of Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan approved on Tuesday a set of additional sanctions, including a freeze on the assets of 40 organizations and one individual, the official Kyodo news agency reported.

The move comes despite opposition by some Japanese officials, who have voiced concern that additional sanctions could hamper trade relations with Iran, a key supplier of oil to Japan.

Iran has stressed that sanctions have no impact on its economy, saying they will only hurt those countries, which have taken such measures against Tehran.

The organizations to be banned include First East Export Bank, an affiliate of Iran's state-owned Bank Mellat, and enterprises linked to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) and the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL), the report said.

The government will also ban in principle Iranian investment in Japanese firms involved in nuclear technology development.

Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada said Tokyo would use the US and EU sanctions as a reference when drafting its own set of sanctions against Iran.

“We have to take concerted action with the United States and European Union. Sanctions cannot be lifted as long as Iran ignores UN Security Council resolutions and continues its uranium enrichment to 20 percent purity,” Okada said.

Iran in May agreed to send its low-enriched uranium to Turkey in exchange for fuel for the Tehran research reactor.

The decision, however, was cold-shouldered by the West, with the US drafting a resolution, which was approved by the UN Security Council in June.