Japan agrees to gradually stop Iranian oil imports

Japan will stop imports of Iranian oil gradually as part of sanctions against Tehran and its nuclear program, ITAR-TASS reports.

Japanese Minister for Finances Jun Adzumi met his US counterpart Timothy Geithner in Tokyo and discussed sanctions against Tehran.

In exchange, Japan requested the US not to use sanctions against companies paying the Iranian Central Bank.

Japan is the second largest trade partner of Tehran after China. It purchases about 350,000 barrels of oil daily. Iran is the fourth largest oil exporter to Japan after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.