Japan moved to impose new sanctions against Iran on September 3, 2010, including freezing the assets of people and entities associated with its nuclear program and imposing tighter restrictions on financial transactions. Although we have not yet obtained a draft of the sanctions, Japanese officials have indicated that new investments in Iran’s oil and gas industries would also be suspended under the new sanctions according to a recent article in Agence France Presse (AFP). However, unlike the supplemental sanctions imposed recently by the United States, Japan’s sanctions do not restrict imports of crude oil from Iran.
According to the Agence France Presse (AFP) article, the sanctions prohibit Japanese financial institutions from dealing in equities and bonds that could be linked to the development of nuclear weapons, including bonds issued by Iran’s central bank. In addition, the government-linked Nippon Export and Investment Insurance agency will cease issuing new medium and long-term trade insurance policies that insure Japanese exports to Iran.