TT On-The-Go
TT Feed
| Oil sanctions on Iran will negatively affect world’s economy: Japanese envoy |
|
 |
 |
 |
Font Size 
 TEHRAN – The Japanese ambassador to Tehran has said that the imposition of sanctions on Iran’s oil industry will negatively affect the economic situation of the world in general and Japan in particular. “The law ratified in the United States has endangered the situation of Japanese companies, and in the Japanese government’s view, it is very difficult to implement these sanctions,” Ambassador Kinichi Komano told the Mehr News Agency in an interview published on Thursday. U.S. President Barack Obama signed into law a defense funding bill that imposes sanctions on financial institutions dealing with the Central Bank of Iran on December 31, 2011 with the aim of hampering Iran’s crude oil exports. Kinichi said that more than 30 Japanese firms have representative offices in Iran, adding, “All these companies are among large Japanese firms which have representative offices around the world, and hence these companies have representative offices in the United States.” “It should be stated clearly that these companies have more trade interactions with the United States than Iran, and therefore, these centers should take the interests of the entire country into consideration. And these interests are in the United States. Therefore, the law which has been newly ratified in the U.S. has made the situation difficult for Japanese firms,” he stated. Kinichi added, “On the other hand, Iran is regarded as a very important country and as Japan’s friend. And we have now told the United States that oil sanctions on Iran should not have a negative impact on the economic situation of the world and Japan.” “You are aware that economic situation in Europe is not very good. Japan’s economic situation is better than Europe, but Japan’s most important nuclear power plant in Fukushima was damaged in the tragic tsunami disaster and cannot be reconstructed. “So this unpleasant incident compelled the government to examine other power plants in Japan, and for this reason, operations at a number of other nuclear plants have been suspended, and Japan is facing electricity shortages. We have been using our fossil fuel power stations and coal power plants and have increased the capacities of these plants. “As a result, oil and gas consumption has increased in Japan, and if oil imports from Iran decrease at this juncture, problems will be created.” Iran’s advances have made world sensitive about its nuclear issue Commenting on the dispute over Iran’s nuclear activities, the Japanese ambassador said, “I think Iran’s nuclear activities are 100 percent peaceful. However, there is serious concern in the international arena about Iran’s nuclear program which is justified because Iran has made considerable progress in the areas of science and technology,” and the military drills that the Islamic Republic recently held indicates Iran’s advances. “These issues have made the world’s people sensitive about (Iran’s) nuclear issue, and therefore the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran should make more efforts to demonstrate the transparency of its nuclear activities,” Kinichi stated. He also commented on relations between Tehran and Tokyo, saying, “The Iranian people have many affinities with the Japanese people, and the relations between the two countries are based on mutual trust.”
  Socialize this Subscribe to our RSS feed to stay in touch and receive all of TT updates right in your feed reader
|