Imports are expected to stop in October after the United States announced in May it would bring back sanctions against Tehran by early November, according to the Nikkei newspaper.
Japan is considering turning to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for supplies. As of now, Iran is the island nation’s sixth oil importer.
A senior State Department official said earlier Japan had already been asked to completely halt its oil imports from Iran.
In early May, US President Donald Trump announced that the United States would be pulling out from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal. In addition, Trump decided to reinstate wide-ranging sanctions on Iran, previously lifted under the agreement in exchange for Tehran maintaining the peaceful nature of its nuclear program.