Chairman of Nippon Oil Corp., Japan's leading oil firm, said Tuesday that Japan would turn to Russia for alternative if oil imports from Iran stop because of international sanctions over its nuclear issue.

Addressing at the Tokyo-based Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan, Fumiaki Watari said Russia would be a good source of crude oil, and his company has the capability to "cover most of the shortfall."

Nippon Oil Corp. is scheduled to import crude oil from Russia's Sakhalin Oil & Gas Development Co. in October, but bears no plan to make the business a long-term operation, Kyodo News said.

The company has decided to reduce oil imports from Iran, which has been providing about 13 percent of Japan's total, due to the potential U.S.-led sanctions on the country.

Source: Xinhua