Bloomberg – U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged Japan to support sanctions against Iran for its uranium enrichment program, a Japanese government spokesman said.
At a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo today, Rice said it’s important that Iran doesn’t follow North Korea down the path toward the development of nuclear weapons, according to government spokesman Hiroshige Seko.
Iran has ignored an Aug. 31 United Nations deadline for halting uranium enrichment. The European Union said on Oct. 17 its diplomacy is failing to curb Iran’s nuclear program and the UN should act on U.S.-led demands for sanctions against the Islamic nation.
The Japanese government is gathering information on the legality of financial transactions made by Iran, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiji Suzuki said at a separate news briefing in Tokyo today.
Japan imported almost 14 percent of its oil from Iran in 2005, ranking the Islamic Republic as Japan’s third-largest supplier after Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Prime Minister Abe said Japan is strengthening its alliance with the U.S., including by developing a missile defense system, Seko told reporters.
Japan is undertaking efforts to hold a meeting with the foreign ministers of the U.S., China, South Korea and Russia soon to discuss North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, Suzuki said.