Tasnim � Japan is in close communication with the United States on Iran sanctions, Japan�s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said on Monday.


Suga declined to comment on details of the discussions, but said Japan has asked that sanctions should not have an adverse impact on the activities of Japanese companies, Reuters reported.

The United States said on Friday it would temporarily allow eight importers to keep buying Iranian oil when it re-imposes new sanctions on Tehran on Monday.

Washington has so far not named the eight, referred to as �jurisdictions�, a term that might include Taiwan which the United States does not regard as a country.

China, India, South Korea, Turkey, Italy, the United Arab Emirates and Japan have been the top importers of Iran�s oil, while Taiwan occasionally buys Iranian crude, although it is no major buyer.

US President Donald Trump announced in May that Washington was pulling out of the nuclear agreement which lifted nuclear-related sanctions against Tehran in exchange for restrictions on Tehran's nuclear program.

The US administration reintroduced the previous sanctions while imposing new ones on the Islamic Republic. A first round of American sanctions took effect in August, targeting Iran's access to the US dollar, metals trading, coal, industrial software, and auto sector. The second round, which went into effect on November 4, aims to target Iran�s oil sales and its Central Bank.