December 28, The Iran Project � Due to the world competitive atmosphere to attend Iran�s market in post-sanctions era, Japanese companies, trying not to lose opportunities, plan an extensive program to boost their economic relations with Iran in 2017.

Japan;s considering $ 10 billion credit for trade with Iran indicates the importance of relations with Tehran, especially in the economic field, Japan Times reported.

According to Japan media, Iran is one of the world's most important energy resources and the imports of goods and petroleum products from that country has always been one of the Tokyo government strategies.

As Iran has the world's second largest natural gas reserves and is the fourth oil superpower, Japan, as the world's third-largest economy and third-largest importer of oil after America and China, cannot ignore such a rich energy market, Japan media said.

A report recently published by Middle East Research Institute (MERI) stressed that Japan heavily relies on Middle Eastern oil so is trying to focus on Iran market.

Nuclear deal and the lifting of sanctions paved the way for Japanese to increase their oil purchases from and�foster their investment in�Iran�s market, the report added.

The state-backed Japan Bank for International Cooperation and Nippon Export and Investment Insurance gave Iran a credit line worth $10 billion in February.