Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba has asked the United Arab Emirates to help meet Japan's increasing demand for oil.

Japan is striving to secure oil resources in the Middle East as many of its nuclear plants were halted after the Fukushima accident. The growing international tensions over Iran are another factor.

Gemba met UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.

He asked the UAE to help stabilize oil prices and extend the oil concessions held by Japanese companies. He explained that the nuclear accident last March has pushed up the demand for oil because of the shift to thermal power generation.

He added that the increasing tension over Iran's nuclear program is creating uncertainty about the country's oil exports.

Abdullah said the Emirates will give Japan preferential rights for oil and extend concessions as well as doing all they can to stabilize the oil market.

The Japanese government is sending a working-level mission to the UAE to follow up on what the two ministers agreed.

Abdullah told a joint news conference that a closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran would have an adverse impact on oil prices. Gemba said Iran should stop its provocative rhetoric.

Gemba visited Saudi Arabia last Saturday to make a similar request.

Source: http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/20120111_02.html

Image credit: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/Oil_platform.jpeg