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Why aren’t Japan’s megabanks joining the US on financial sanctions against Iran?

July 14, 2010
By Ken Worsley


Earlier today, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Treasury David Cohen visited Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Mizuho Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group to outline US financial sanctions against Iran. These sanctions were signed into law by US President Barack Obama on 1 July.

The fact that Japan’s megabanks have yet to comply with US sanctions is disturbing, to say the least. With Iran attempting to build nuclear weapons, its access to the global financial system clearly needs to be shut down. Japan, as a nation that stands for nuclear non-proliferation, needs to support the US government in its attempts to ensure that Iran does not use the international financial system to acquire nuclear materials.

The story behind the story: Japan may be bringing in PetroEuros from Iran, which is unacceptable. Iran was part of a consortium of nations that wanted oil traded in euros rather than dollars. The US needs to ensure that its closest ally, Japan, is paying for oil in dollars, while its banks are not allowing Iranian funds to be moved under the radar.

Cohen’s visit is an affirmation of the fact that finances have been observed moving in a way that is not advantageous to US interests and that such flows of funds must be stopped.

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Comments

6 Responses to “Why aren’t Japan’s megabanks joining the US on financial sanctions against Iran?”

  1. MK on July 14th, 2010 11:50 pm

    ODA and outstanding loans explains why these banks aren’t willing to go with the Americans - just yet. - they secured some sweet interest rates on development loans. When the Iranians default we have a different case on our hands, but I don’t see that happening any time soon.

  2. Patrick Eckl on July 15th, 2010 9:30 am

    “With Iran attempting to build nuclear weapons, its access to the global financial system needs to be shut down.”

    Well, this is exactly what the U.S. military-industrial complex and its politicians wants its citizens and the rest of the world to believe. But if you do decent research (i.e. beyond the mainstream media who are probably more or less controlled by the complex) you will find many other perspectives on this matter.

    I don’t know much about economics, so I’ll take a different route. Perhaps the reason why the Japanese banks are not following the U.S. on the Iran-issue is a combination of the facts that (a) Iran has signed the NPT treaty and considers the uranium enrichment part, just like Japan itself does, of its civilian nuclear energy program, and (b) the past has shown that the U.S. government’s claims regarding building/possession of WMD’s by other countries turned out to be not exactly true. I hope I don’t have to elaborate on this.

  3. igiari on July 15th, 2010 6:47 pm

    “Iran attempting to build nuclear weapons” is the Iraq WMD of today. There is no evidence to support the claim. Japan should make its own decisions, not blindly follow the West in yet another set of trumped-up charges against yet another nation the US has decided to bully.

  4. Ken Worsley on July 15th, 2010 11:08 pm

    It was really hard to get the sarcasm across in this one. I’m open to suggested edits to help make it come through…

  5. igiari on July 16th, 2010 10:23 am

    Since many people write things exactly like what you wrote and sincerely mean them, only your closest friends would be able to read the above without thinking you were being entirely serious. Maybe superimpose a big drawing of warai salesman?

  6. Ken Worsley on July 28th, 2010 12:26 am

    igiari, “only your closest friends would be able to read the above without thinking you were being entirely serious.”

    Well, that’s who I write for. Not really interested outside that camp.

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