Japan bought 14 percent of Iran鈥檚 oil exports between January and June 2011 鈥� 1 percentage point more than second-ranked India. But imports trailed off to in the second half of that period, reports Reuters, which shuffled the country鈥檚 ranking down to third.
Japan has decreased imports from Iran by , according to Bloomberg. However, it is not prepared to cut off the supplier completely, despite encouragement from the US following the most recent international sanctions.
Japan recently pressured the US for an exemption from its embargo on international institutions financing Iranian oil sales. In early February, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said 鈥渢he trend is we鈥檒l cut oil imports from Iran,鈥� as Japan continues to try to tap other suppliers, reports Bloomberg.
