New U.S. Law on Iran May Hurt Japanese Firms

TOKYO—A new American law aimed at ratcheting up financial pressure on Iran could hit a handful of Japanese energy and financial firms.

Reports issued by U.S. researchers attempting to document activity by multinational companies in Iran have named oil-and-gas producer Inpex Corp. and units of Japan’s three largest banks—Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Mizuho Financial Group Inc.—as doing business that could possibly run afoul of the new U.S. rules.

The law, expected to be signed by President Barack Obama on Thursday, would ban any international firms doing business with certain Iranian banks and energy firms from conducting business inside the U.S. Multinationals from a number of countries throughout Europe, Asia and the Middle East could also be affected by the measure, according to the research reports. Once the law takes effect, the U.S. State Department will determine which companies could face penalties under the new rules.

The Japanese companies named in the reports said they were studying the law to see whether they would need to make any adjustments to comply with the new rules.

“We are aware that President Obama is expected to sign the bill. We will keep an eye on any impact,” Inpex President Toshiaki Kitamura told Dow Jones Newswires Thursday in an interview. He declined to comment further on the U.S. move or discuss the effect it could have on Inpex or its operations.

Inpex has a …

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