Japan's lower house of parliament has endorsed a bill which authorizes the Japanese government to insure shipments of Iranian crude oil imports, in an attempt to counter the US-led EU insurance bans against Iran, Press TV reports.
On January 23, under pressure from the United States, EU foreign ministers approved new sanctions against Tehran, banning oil imports from Iran across the European Union, which also includes extending insurance coverage for tankers carrying Iranian crude.
Japan, which in 2011 imported nine percent of its oil from Iran, has become exempt from the US unilateral sanctions against Iran's oil industry by reducing its crude imports from the Islamic Republic.
The world’s third-largest economy did not cease purchasing Iran's crude over concerns regarding the likelihood of a surge in imported oil prices and the subsequent negative effects on Japan's economic development.
