TEHRAN -- Iran’s ambassador to Japan, Seyyed Abbas Araqchi, said on Tuesday that Tehran has announced its readiness to supply Japan with necessary fuel as the tsunami-hit country is facing major electricity shortages.

Talking to IRNA, Ambassador Araqchi said that the two sides are studying the matter.
He added that Japan is suffering a dramatic fall in power generation capacity as a massive earthquake and tsunami hit the Fukushima nuclear plant on March 11.
The diplomat also said that Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan recently stated that his country will move toward the use of clean energy resources such as solar and wind powers as a replacement for fossil and nuclear fuels.
However, he said the use of solar and wind powers will not be economical given Japan’s high electricity consumption.
He also noted that the future of energy in Japan is a significant issue and Iran must keep a close eye on the relevant developments since “the Islamic Republic of Iran is currently one of the main suppliers of crude oil to Japan and provides around 10 percent of the country’s oil imports.”
“I believe that Japan’s demand for fossil fuels will surge in the short run, and we must wait and see if Japan will be able to use other replacement energy resources in the long term,” the ambassador added.